The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth
by dancechick307
Summary: A series of oneshots all about our favorite couple sprinkled with fluff and topped with humor. Need I say more?
1. Lovesick

******A/N: This is a collection of Percabeth moments ! I apologize in advance for all the fluffy and cheesy moments up ahead, but that's just how I roll with Percy & Annabeth!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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1. Lovesick

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"Come on, Annabeth! We've been here for, like, seven hours now! Can we leave already?" Percy complained for the hundredth time that day.

Ever since being appointed Olympus' new architect, Annabeth had been spending most of her free time watching over the process of building a whole new Olympus. And ever since their kiss in the pavilion, Percy had been going everywhere with Annabeth. Which meant spending his day watching Annabeth scribble a bunch of stuff on blueprints and shout orders at the satyrs helping with the rebuilding of Olympus. What fun!

Annabeth rolled her eyes at her boyfriend- her cheeks just flushed at the thought of Percy _officially _being her boyfriend now.

"I seriously doubt we've been here for seven hours, maybe for four hours and a half, but…"

"Okay, okay, four hours and a half, can we just go?"

"Jeez! Calm down, I just have to get this one marble column in the right place and then we can – HEY! GIVE IT BACK!" Percy had snatched her blueprints right from her hands just as she was making an important change to the architecture. Oh, Gods, he could be _really _annoying sometimes.

The Seaweed Brain just smirked at her and waved the roll of blueprints in his hands at her mockingly.

"Come and get it!"

With that, he raced through the mess of marble blocks and gold fountains and other crap Annabeth was using to rebuild Olympus. Annabeth crossed her arms, but raced after him anyway. _Someone_ was going to have to teach him a lesson not to mess with her.

_She's catching up to me_, Percy thought glumly as he felt her running behind him.

Annabeth grinned as though she had heard his thought and, as soon as she was close enough, jumped onto Percy's back.

The force of her jump had caught him by surprise, and Percy was sent crashing to the ground laughing the whole time.

Annabeth had him pinned down and was pressing him harder and harder into the ground until he finally gave up.

"Okay, okay! Here you go, Wise Girl! Your precious blueprints. Seriously did you need to tackle me down just to get them?" Percy got up and rubbed his elbows – invincible or not, Annbeth tackling him had not been fun.

"Oh, shut up, you big baby," Annabeth giggled, playfully elbowing him. He lifted his head up and gave her a lopsided smile. The smile sent butterflies to Annabeth's stomach and her cheeks reddened. Percy was watching her the whole time – amazed at how she could surprise him with her reactions.

"Why are you blushing?"

"Whatever. Come on, Seaweed Brain, I guess we can leave now."

"Seriously? Yes! Let's go!"

He intertwined his fingers with hers and they quietly escaped – not without coming face to face with Travis and Connor Stoll smirking at the both of them and laughing "Have fun, lovebirds!"

Gods, can you say embarrassing?

They decided to take a walk through Central Park. It was by no means quiet, but with all those people walking or jogging or biking around, it made it too complicated for a monster to attack without too many mortal witnesses. They were a huge pain in the butt, but you couldn't forget about monsters when you were a half-blood.

So they strolled through Central Park, hand-in-hand, and Annabeth couldn't help thinking how they must've looked like such a typical couple on a typical date out in New York. They would laugh and joke and argue about stupid things because, of course, they were Percy and Annabeth, which meant that they could _never_ agree on one thing.

And sometimes, they wouldn't say anything at all. Percy would just lead Annabeth down the paved path and through the trees, stealing glances back at the beautiful girl with golden locks and paralyzing gray eyes, wondering how they had ever come this far.

At the end of the night just as they were deep into an argument, the moonlight would catch Annabeth's tumbling hair and it would shine in a way the made Percy speechless. Then he would gently press his lips to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. Once they pulled apart, Annabeth would smile and say, "Does that mean I win our argument? Or do you still have something you'd like to add?"

Percy would shake his head and whisper, "Shut up."

And he'd kiss her. Again and again and again until Annabeth gently pressed her hands against his chest and sadly told him that they needed to head back to camp.

Percy, looking all sullen and disappointed, whispered into her ear, "Do we have to?" sending all sorts of chills down Annabeth. She just laughed and pulled his hand free from her hair, and together they got a cab and headed back to camp - happy, excited, and completely lovesick.

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**A/N : Thanks for reading! More chapters up ahead, so stay with me! Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Thanks :)**


	2. A Piece of His Heart

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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2. A Piece of His Heart

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Christmas. It was a cheerful holiday. From warm hot chocolate and wrapped gifts and falling snowflakes and annoying carols and jolly old Santa Claus, what's not to love about Christmas?

_Apparently, a lot_, thought Percy as he followed his mom through the crowded mall.

Not only had he woken up at two in the morning, but then again at four and then again at six. So, naturally he had gotten no sleep at all causing horrible dark circles under his eyes and making him so drowsy for the rest of the day that his mom had called his name three times before he realized he was pouring her coffee in his cereal.

His school had been a pain. Even though they were on Christmas break, his stupid math teacher, Mr. Kellner, had given them a huge packet to do to make sure no one forgot how to solve algebraic equations over the holiday.

Thanks, dude, I seriously want to solve for _x_ on Christmas break.

Despite getting no sleep, his mom had forced him to tag along with her when she went to the mall which he normally wouldn't have minded except for the fact that everyone in the freaking state of New York was in the mall Christmas shopping and every time he saw a blonde haired girl, he felt a tug at his chest. He swallowed nervously.

Annabeth. They had been out having dinner at her favorite Chinese restaurant just last week when –out of the blue- she had blurted out that she was going back to San Francisco for Christmas.

He cringed. He missed her. A lot. More than he would ever admit.

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_One week ago. _

"Hey, what's up?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows. They – he and Annabeth – were at Annabeth's favorite Chinese place. She always ordered the same thing – orange chicken, fried rice, and two egg rolls- and she had yet to touch her food.

Annabeth's chin was resting in her palm, her eyes staring out into nowhere, her thoughts a million miles away.

"Hello? Earth to Annabeth? Is the chicken spoiled or something?" Percy stole a piece of her orange chicken and plopped it in his mouth. "Nope, it tastes fine. Must be the rice…"

"Ha ha, stop eating my food!" Annabeth snapped, flicking his hand away from her plate.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Silence. Annabeth sighed. Sometimes she loved how Percy could take just one look at her and know exactly how she was feeling. Except for today. Today it was just plain annoying.

"You know me too well," he smiled widely at that, "It's just, I got a letter in the mail this morning. And it's from my dad…"

"Oh, cool. So how is he?"

"And he sorta wants me to spend Christmas in California with him." Annabeth willed herself to look at Percy. But she couldn't. Her chest hurt, and she was getting a massive headache. These past few months had been the best. She and Percy had spent every waking moment together when they weren't at school or asleep. Her father's letter was bad timing. It was great to hear from him and to know that he wanted her there for Christmas, but her leaving New York right now was just a sad thought, especially when she and Percy had both been looking forward to spending Christmas together. Cheesy? Yeah, it was. But still true.

"Oh."

"Look, I'm really sorry, Percy, I had – I mean I just –"

"No, it's fine. Really! You should spend Christmas with your dad and your step mom."

"Really? I mean I kinda wanted to stay here, you know, in New York, with- with"

"With me?" Percy blushed. He couldn't believe he had just blurted that out.

Annabeth smiled cockily, "I was gonna say 'with Nico', but, um, sure…" She couldn't help it; she started cracking up.

"Funny. Real funny."

"Oh my Gods, sorry, this isn't funny. Really though, do you think I should go?"

He couldn't be selfish. "Yeah, of course. You know, especially since your dad invited you and all."

"Okay."

"I mean, I want you to stay, but that's not fair. You should go to your dad's place."

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

She got up from her chair and walked over to Percy's. He pulled her into his lap and she put her arms around his neck.

"Thanks Seaweed Brain."

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So it was sort of his fault for letting her leave. But what was he supposed to do? Tell her that she couldn't go visit her dad? Yeah, like that would happen.

Anyway, it wasn't as though she was gone forever. She was coming back, right after New Year.

Crap. And he _still_ didn't have a gift for her.

"Percy? Helloooo?" Sally Jackson was standing in front of Percy, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for her son's attention.

"Sorry, what?"

"I _said,_ do you have anything picked out for Annabeth yet?"

Percy reddened. As if his camp friends hadn't been embarrassing enough about how excited they were that he and Annabeth were finally together, his mom was ecstatic. She had seen Percy and Annabeth walk through the front door of their apartment holding hands and immediately after Annabeth had left, Sally had confronted her very embarrassed son about his new girlfriend. Of course, she had said that she always knew they'd end up together. Yippee.

"Have you even thought about what to get her?"

"Uh, er, no."

"Percy!!"

"I know, I know, it's just that I have absolutely no idea what to get her!" Which was true. The typical gift was jewelry like a necklace or a bracelet or whatever, but the only jewelry Annabeth ever wore were her owl earrings and her camp bead necklace. She loved to read, but who got someone a _book_ for Christmas, for Gods' sake? So that left him with no gift for Annabeth.

After looking around the mall for about two hours (who knew you could spend that much time looking for a freaking present?!), Percy had decided to go with the typical boyfriend gift- yes- jewelry. Except this was cool, it was a braided leather bracelet and he even got 'Annabeth' engraved on it in silver lettering. Plus Sally had said that it matched their camp bead necklace, so whoopee!

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_Christmas Eve_

"Percy! Are you coming?" called out Mrs. Jackson from the kitchen. Her son had been in his room for the past hour - surely it didn't take that long to wrap Annabeth's gift.

Percy - behind the privacy of his closed bedroom door - was having a meltdown.

He just couldn't make himself wrap the stupid bracelet to FedEx to Annabeth...it was all just too cliché.

But, it wasn't like he was an idiot. He knew he had to send her a gift; he was just way too nervous about whether she was going to like it or not.

Percy had gone back to the mall to have another engravement added to Annabeth's bracelet. His mother hadn't seen the new bracelet yet, and he hoped she wouldn't ever or he would never hear the end of it-seriously, that's how bad it was.

In a totally Lifetime-movie moment, Percy had gotten three simple words that meant everything engraved onto the bracelet: _Love Seaweed Brain._

But now it was done. It was Christmas Eve and there was no way Percy could go back to the mall, order a new bracelet without the new inscription, and have it mailed to Annabeth all in time for Christmas day.

So there he sat on his bed, angrily playing with the leather bracelet in his hand, bending it and twisting it, over and over again. Why wouldn't the stupid thing just BREAK ALREADY?!

Deep breathe. Inhale. Exhale.

Wow, Percy had really lost his mind.

He quickly slipped the bracelet into the small blue box his mom had purchased specially for the bracelet. He had gotten a box of Sour Patches (Annabeth's favorite candy) and even gotten a simple card from Hallmark with a picture of a Times Square decorated with Christmas lights. Percy placed everything inside the cardboard box and carried it downstairs to where his mother and Paul were setting the table for dinner.

Percy called out to his mom, telling her he was just mailing Annabeth's present. He grabbed his coat and the slipped the box underneath his arm, determined to get it to the girl who was supposed to open the gift tomorrow morning. He sat down on the front steps of his apartment building waiting for the trademark FedEx truck to come by and pick up his gift. It finally did come. (And about time, because Percy was certain he was going to freeze to death out here just waiting for the truck)

A uniformed man came out of the bus and Percy watched as he took Percy's box along with other boxes holding presents for other people and he placed them into the truck. Percy watched the truck drive away with the present he had wrapped up and purchased and placed a piece of his heart with, so that tomorrow, come Christmas day, the special girl who was going to receive it would hopefully know that she would always have a place in his heart, no matter the distance between them or the state of the world.

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**A/N : Wow, thank you so much for the positive feedback on the last chapter! You guys are awesome! :)**

**Thanks for reading, and please review! **


	3. All Grown Up

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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3. All Grown Up

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Sally Jackson had never felt so sad and happy at the same time.

It was overwhemling; this mixture of feelings. To be so happy she could jump up with joy and yet sad enough to want to cry.

How? How had this happened all so quickly?

It was bound to. He was growing up, he was soon going to be out of high school, out of the apartment, out of her life busy leading his own.

But he'd always be in her heart, and, no doubt, would she be in his. But she had learned that she had to share his heart now.

It was so strange seeing him smile as he ate breakfast right across the table from her and know that his smile was from a special feeling, one feeling she had experienced a couple of times in her life.

It was so strange seeing him stroll into the house whistling for no reason, laughing in spite of nothing, being so joyous just on the thought of someone else.

It was so strange watching him race to the home phone, everytime it rang, and the look that sprung on his face when it was the person he had been waiting for to call.

And the way he could spend hours talking in his room on the phone with this person made her heart ache.

Maybe she had figured it out, at night when she came ot check up on him and hear him mutter one name, one name that now meant the world to him.

It was made her sad to think that now his secrets were not told to her, but whispered to another girl, who now held his heart's full attention.

It made her want to cry when she thought of him saying 'I love you', not just to her anymore, but to this girl.

It made her feel heart broken when she realized that he would no longer be running to her for hugs and kisses, but to his girlfriend.

It made her want to freeze time and hold her son for only a moment longer because now once he had fallen in love, she had realized how quickly he had grown up right before her very own eyes.

However, it made her happy to see her son so enchanted, so happy, so....in love.

She was thrilled to accept this girl as her daughter.

She screamed with joy on the inside when she saw the way the two of them looked at each other as though no one else in the world existed.

She was pleased - no, ecstatic- that he had found the one for him, the one who cared for him, the one who completed him.

She was even more ecstatic to know that the one very special person that was meant to be with him, the person who kept his full attention at every movement was none other than Annabeth Chase.

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**A/N : Did you like it? Hate it? I know it was a little on the short side, but thanks for reading! Don't forget to review please!**


	4. Victory

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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4. Victory

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Percy stood outside her apartment, waiting, running his fingers through his hair, tugging at his Yankees t-shirt, folding and unfolding his arms, and Annabeth couldn't help think _Gods, he is so cute._

She was watching him secretly from her bedroom window. She couldn't resist – seeing him so nervous about their date made her feel better about spending two hours deciding what to wear.

Annabeth was back in New York where she was staying with one of her half-sisters, Crystal, and her family. They were both going to the same school, so she was allowed to stay in their guest bedroom until camp started. She had liked living with Crystal; Crystal was kind, smart (of course, being a daughter of Athena!), and could even make her laugh. Anyway, Annabeth had emailed Percy her new address, and there he was tonight, picking her up at six o'clock just as he'd promised.

Percy looked down at his wrist, as though he was checking his watch, which was ridiculous because he never ever wore a watch, which made him loose track of time, which made him late to a lot of their dates, which made Annabeth mad, which made Percy apologize over and over again, which made Annabeth kiss him, which made him kiss her back, which made –

"HEY! What the heck are you doing up there?! Hello? I've been waiting!" Percy yelled to the window which Annabeth was perched on, content on just watching him.

Busted.

Annabeth's cheeks turned bright red and she flustered an apology, "Oh…yeah, er, sorry?"

He was still looking up at her annoyed when he started cracking up, "Just come on!"

Now even more embarrassed then before, Annabeth made her way downstairs, said bye to Crystal, and walked out the front door right into Percy's arm – where he was, unfortunately, still laughing.

Annabeth pulled away, "Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

Percy attempted to hold back his laughs for a few seconds, "You were watching me?"

He started to crack up again. Apparently, Annabeth didn't see what was so funny about this.

"Your head is full of kelp!" She called walking away from him and down the sidewalk. She smirked as soon as she heard his footsteps chasing after her.

"Well, maybe, but I'm not blind. Why were you watching me?" He asked again, slipping his hand around her waist, so that they were connected as they walked. She felt shivers all the way down to her toes and her cheeks flushed again. It was horrifying how he could make her blush just by touching her!

Annabeth sighed, "I guess I was watching you because…because you're cute when you're nervous."

"Nervous? Me?" Percy raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, right."

Annabeth wasn't having it. "Oh no, you were very calm, waiting for me, weren't you? Never running your hands through your hair or messing with your shirt or –"

"Okay, okay!" Percy stated, his hands held up in defeat. Annabeth smiled; she always won.

Percy leaned into Annabeth, a mischievous gleam in his eye, but before Annabeth could figure out what that meant, he kissed her. One of his hands played with her golden locks and his other hand curved around her hip pulling her closer to him. His kissing became more urgent, more desperate for more, so Annabeth locked her hands around his neck.

Then they pulled apart, both gasping for air. Percy slowly stepped back with a lopsided smile on his face as he tried to steady his breathe. Annabeth felt her cheeks grow hot as he stared at her, and soon she was as red as a strawberry. Great, he had gotten to her again.

Percy let out a quiet laugh at the sight of Annabeth blushing and gently took one of Annabeth's hand, lacing his fingers in between hers, "Nope, I win."

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**A/N : Thanks so much for reading! I kinda liked the ending...*sigh* I wish Percy existed. If he did, I would totally not ship Percy and Annabeth anymore and go track him down and steal him for myself. But then again, I guess I'm not alone in wishing that, right? Haha, okay enough pointless fangirl dreaming!**

**I hoped you liked it, and don't forget to review! :)**


	5. Magician

**A/N :**** Yeah, I know this one is very short, but I just came back from the beach and the ocean was the only thing on my mind, so I had to write this! Enjoy!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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5. Magician

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They watched the ocean's waves unroll and unravel and lick against the sandy beach, bringing with it a sea breeze and a distinct salty aroma. They watched the sunlight shine across the ocean's surface, reflecting off of it, creating a breathtaking illusion of a sparkling sea. They watched the breeze sway the trees and make the sand float around until it finally settled down again as the breeze died down.

And he watched her. Watched how her locks glowed as bright as the sun sometimes. Watched at how those unforgettable gray eyes sometimes caught his own eyes. Watched as her cheeks turned a rosy red and a smile bloomed on her face. Watched as she ran her hands through his hair and looked at him as though she had never seen anyone before. Watched as she giggled to herself as she played with the thin leather band around her wrist that he had given to her one Christmas day. And he watched her as though he'd never seen anything so beautiful, so precious, so important and significant to him before.

She was a magician. She could make his heart skip a beat or beat faster and faster and faster until he was certain it would burst out of his chest. She could make him blush and go as red as a tomato at the slightest cocky comment. She could make him worry, worry endlessly about her and her life. She could make him want to hug her so tight she'd break into a million pieces and, on rare occasions, she could make him want to pull his hair out.

She amazed him. Her every movement, her every touch or glance enchanted him. He was trapped. She had gotten him, outsmarted him, took him by surprise, and cast a spell on him and he didn't mind it, not one bit at all.


	6. Meant to Be

**A/N : Hey guys! First off, thanks to everyone who reviewed! It means so much to me - just ask my sister, she was a witness as I was jumping up and down reading your reviews!**

**Thanks to: _PERCABETHGIRL-12, bombplaya3, iknowiknow5279, bluejeans12, Percabeth-4-Life, Mrs. Future Seaweed Brain, purduepuppy, and Miss Me_**

**_bombplaya3_: haha thanks for the advice! I'm gonna edit that right now! I have a HORRIBLE habit of having extra-long run-on sentences!**

**_iknowiknow5279:_ I love that word ! AMAZINGLYAWESOME! Do you mind if I borrow it? :D**

**Anyway, read on people! Many fluffy moments ahead - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !**

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** The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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6. Meant to Be

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"Annabeth! Annabeth? HELLO?!" Percy whisper-shouted, searching in the dark for his girlfriend.

Ugh. This was pathetic. During dinner Annabeth had whispered into Percy's ear, not only sending shivers down his back, but also informing him to meet her out by the bushes were lined around the Big House while everyone else was in their cabins. Well, here he was, crouched down, in an effort not to be seen, waiting for Annabeth. It was against camp rules to be sneaking around when you were supposed to be sleeping in your cabin. However, Annabeth had suggested this, and she never broke the rules, so she must've had something worthwhile for them to do. Percy's cheeks flushed just thinking about what they would do. Alone. In the dark. In the middle of a bunch trees. No one around.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" Percy cried as he felt a blow against his head. Annabeth appeared, standing behind him laughing her head off. Percy narrowed his eyes at the Yankees cap she held in her hand, her magic object which allowed her to become invisible.

"How long have you been standing right there?" Percy snapped.

"For awhile," Annabeth giggled. Percy still looked annoyed, so she rolled her eyes and muttered an apology.

"What was that?" Percy asked, pretending not to have heard her. "What'd you say?"

Annabeth folded her arms across her chest. "Ha ha, if you think I'm gonna say sorry again, then you're wrong Seaweed Brain."

"Okay, then well, if you're just going to laugh at me and say sorry, I guess I'll be on my way…" Percy began to walk away, slowly as though he were waiting for her to stop him.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Okay, bye! See ya!" It wasn't like he was _really _going to leave.

Percy smirked. He started to sprint all the way to the opposite side of camp, making his way straight back to Poseidon's cabin.

"Hey! Percy, wait! HEY!" Annabeth called, desperately trying not to make too much noise.

He froze in front of the door to his cabin. She reached him panting for her breath.

"That- was-really" She paused, bending over, "Really mean!" She punched him in the back.

"Aw, I'm so sorry!" Percy replied, pulling her into a hug. She pushed him away. He raised his eyebrows at her, "See? It's not _that _hard to apologize, you know."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him, "Says you! Apologizing means being wrong and I'm never wrong."

"Really?"  
"Yes, really."

And with that she took of sprinting, all the way back across camp and into the forest.

Percy let out a sigh and, of course, chased after her.

When he reached her, she was sitting at the foot of a tree with her legs crossed, picking at the grass, while Percy gasped for air.

"I didn't realize that when you asked me to meet up with you, you meant that we'd be doing a lot of running, otherwise I wouldn't have come," He retorted, dropping himself to the ground next to her. Annabeth ignored him.

Percy, for some reason, suddenly became very aware of the fact that they were both sitting in the forest.

"So, er, what did you what to do?"

Annabeth sent him an exasperated look.

"I just wanted to get away, I don't know," She shrugged.

"Cool."

"Yeah."

Another silence. This was getting awkward. In an effort to make this seem less weird, Percy reached over to Annabeth, putting his arms around her and positioning them, so that she was leaning back into him.

"Hmmm."

"Better?"

Annabeth blushed, "Yeah, thanks."

Just being so close to each other, automatically relaxed Percy and this time the silence that followed was nice and peaceful not awkward as before. Slowly, as they loosened up a bit, they started talking. Annabeth told him about how she was still keeping in touch with her dad through letters, and he told her about his mother being very happy with Paul. She told him her vision for rebuilding Olympus, and he tried to listen to every word.

Every now and then, Percy would get lost in her hair, watching her smooth it back and then see it fall again into her face, her long wavy blonde locks falling into her gray eyes.

And sometimes, he'd make her laugh. That was the best. She'd giggle and playfully nudge him in the shoulder.

And when she talked about how she couldn't wait to go to Athens, Greece and see the Parthenon in person, he started playing with her hair, twirling a shiny soft strand around his fingers.

"Hello? Percy! Are you even listening?" She asked, turning to face him and touching her hand to his face lightly.

"Um, yeah, something about it being, like, 60 feet tall…"

Annabeth settled back into his arms, somewhat satisfied with his answer. His skin glowed with heat from the spot where she had touched him.

It was amazing to Percy, how he was so comfortable with her, how every touch, every movement seemed natural and just right, and how they seemed perfectly in synched with each other. As though…as though they were meant to be together.

Percy's thoughts were interrupted when he felt Annabeth's lips press against his cheek.

He flushed a deep red, "What was that for?"

Annabeth smiled sheepishly, "No reason, I just felt like it."

Percy laughed, "That's okay with me." And he kissed her, on the lips this time.

They _were_ meant to be together – no matter how cheesy that sounded.

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**A/N : Next chapter is going to be kinda funny - at least, I hope because I've never really tried humor before! Sarcasm just comes naturally and fluffy moments are fun to write, but hopefully I'll be okay at writing something that will actually make you laugh out loud! Fingers crossed.**

**Anyway, as you know, reviews are appreciated! :) Thanks.**


	7. Best Date Ever

**A/N : Uh, okay, so here is the next chapter I promised and my pathetic attempt at humor! I seriously wouldn't have posted this if I hadn't promised you guys, but I did, so here you go! No, it won't make you ROFL, but I hope it'll at least make you smile!**

**Read on people!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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7. Best Date Ever

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_Which fork am I supposed to use? _Percy wondered staring down at the many eating utensils placed in front of him. There were two glass cups, three forks, a spoon, two knives, and two plates all laid out in front of him! How the heck was he supposed to know which one to use? Gods, he just wanted to eat his freaking salad!

"The smallest fork is for your desert, the bigger one is for your salad, and the biggest fork is for your main meal, smarty," replied Annabeth smugly.

Percy just stared at her. How did she do that? It was as though she could read his mind, and, frankly, sometimes it creeped him out.

"What? Do I have spinach stuck in my teeth or something?" Annabeth asked. She had caught him staring at her.

Percy smiled. "Nope, you're good."

"Okay," She replied laughing.

They were out on a date tonight, but instead of going to a burger place or a Chinese restaurant, Percy had taken Annabeth to a fancier restaurant. Which he immediately regretted because the fancy atmosphere just made him nervous.

Thankfully, though, everything had gone pretty smoothly. Percy had just dropped his knife on the ground _once _and he had only spilled his water over _twice –_just_ twice!_ Yippee!

Annabeth had trouble holding back a laugh as she saw Percy trying to fit the enormous piece of lettuce in his mouth all at once. Her boyfriend had such great table etiquette!

Percy caught her eye and he blushed. She giggled and waved her knife in the air.

"That's what a knife is for, Percy," She said slowly, as though she were explaining this to a two-year-old. "You use a knife to cut your food into small, eatable portions."

He stuck his tongue out at her.

Their waitress came hurrying out the kitchen and towards their table. Annabeth immediately stiffened. The girl was around their age, very perky, and, apparently, had tried to flirt with Percy.

"Hello, how's everything?" She asked, staring straight at Percy, positioning herself so that she was blocking Annabeth.

Percy fidgeted in his chair, "Um, great."

"Perfect," She said, showing all her shiny white teeth as she smiled. "Your food should be ready anytime soon."

"Great."

"Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Er, no thanks."

"Really? It wouldn't be a problem at all." There was that blinding smile again.

"No, we're good, thanks."

"Are you sure? Water? Soda?"

"No! He said we're good! Just LEAVE already!" Annabeth shrieked. The waitress turned around, "Well, okay, but I wasn't asking you, honey." She stomped off.

"Geez, Annabeth," Percy smirked, running his hand through his hair. "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Annabeth opened her mouth – probably to snap something back at him – but she never got to say anything because just then Grover and Tyson came running through the restaurant.

Let's clarify: Grover has hooves for feet, so when he runs, it looks like this weird crippled kid trying to skip. And Tyson – well, Tyson is Tyson. Enough said.

They came running through the restaurant, making people's head turn, yelling "Annabeth! PERCY! Big brother! HEY! Percy and Annabeth!"

Annabeth shot Percy a look. "What are they doing here?!" She whispered across the table to him.

Percy just shook his head. Grover and Tyson finally reached their table, and Percy greeted them.

"Hey Tyson, G-man! What's up?"

"WE WERE LOOKING FOR YOU BROTHER!" The restaurant fell silent as everyone's attention turned to their table. Annabeth cringed while Percy nudged Tyson in the shoulder.

"Hey, big guy, try to keep it down."

Tyson smiled sheepishly, "Sorry!"

"So how are you guys?" Annabeth smiled. Tyson returned her smile with a toothy grin. "Annabeth!" He practically lifted her out of her seat as he tried to hug her.

She shot Percy a desperate look over Tyson's shoulder as he squeezed the life out of her. Percy cleared his throat, "Er, Tyson? I think you're squishing Annabeth."

Tyson let go of Annabeth, "Opps." Annabeth giggled, "Its okay."

"So are you guys going to be leav-"Annabeth stopped midsentence as she watched Grover and Tyson pull two chairs from a table nearby and settled themselves at her and Percy's table.

"So what's up?" Grover asked. He subconsciously reached over, took Percy's salad fork, and started chewing on it.

_Great, now how am I supposed to eat my freaking salad? _Percy thought to himself amused.

What Grover and Tyson were doing here was beyond him, but he was hoping they'd take the hint that this was a _date _between _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ and leave.

"Um, fine. You know, it's kind of a special night, since I'm out. On a date. With Annabeth."

"Yes, ok," Grover said, nodding his head. Was he even listening? Annabeth kicked Percy in the shins under the table. Percy shot her an annoyed look, _What do you want me to do? Kick them out?_

"Uh, don't you two have some where you need to be at?" Percy asked, hoping they'd take the hint.

"Nope, we spend time with brother and Annabeth tonight!" replied Tyson looking so happy with himself.

So much for them leaving.

Just then their waitress came over with their food. She halted when she saw the two extra guests sitting at Annabeth and Percy's table.

"Oh, hello," She said nervously, eyeing Grover while he chewed on a fork. Percy kicked him in the hoove, and he abruptly dropped the fork.

"Right, well, I'm Stacie and I'll be your waitress for this evening. Can I get you two anything?"

Grover looked around confused, as though he was just realizing he was in a restaurant. Annabeth took advantage of his cluelessness, "No, they're not staying."

"NO, DON'T WORRY! WE STAY WITH YOU!"

Stacie and Annabeth cringed, while everyone else around them looked annoyed.

"Tyson? Indoor voice, okay?"

"OPPS!"

Annabeth hid her face in her hands.

Finally speaking up, Grover told Stacie, "No thanks; we'll just share with Percy and Annabeth."

Percy gritted his teeth.

Stacie nodded and walked back to the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back with their food.

She set the pasta in front of Annabeth.

"Yummy!" exclaimed Tyson, clapping his large hands together. He started digging into the pasta immediately.

"Do you want to eat?" Tyson asked Annabeth, with his mouth wide open as he chewed the pasta.

Annabeth forced a smile, "No! You go ahead and eat!"

Tyson smiled and pushed the plate closer to him. Percy mouthed _sorry _to her, and she just shrugged.

Yikes. This was _not _going well.

Well, at least Percy had his dinner to himself. Grover had now moved on to chewing up the spoon.

Percy nudged Grover, "How's that spoon taste?"

Grover blushed, "Sorry, I'm somewhere else."

"Yeah, I've noticed. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing. It's no big deal." Percy raised his eyebrows, but didn't push the matter any further.

"So are you guys going anywhere else? No offense, but S I'm kinda on a date with Annabeth right now."

"Yeah. You're right," Grover replied absentmindedly.

Percy sighed.

He scooted his chair over closer to Annabeth. Percy pushed his steak and potato in the middle of them, telling her to share it with him.

Annabeth smiled gratefully and started eating. She leaned in to him and whispered, "For some reason, this table is getting a bit too crowded, don't you think?"

Percy shot her look.

"What? I'm right, aren't I?"

Percy rolled his eyes, "Of course, you're always right, aren't you? Well, if you're so smart, _you_ make them leave."

Annabeth wasn't paying attention. Instead she was watching Tyson eat her pasta dog-style, no fork or knife, just his mouth and his hands.

"Tyson!" She cried. "Fork?" She offered him her fork, holding back a laugh, as he took it and attempted to eat a little neater.

"Maybe we should get going…" Percy wondered. Apparently, their table was receiving a lot of stares from people around the restaurant.

"Yes! Let's go!" Annabeth said swiftly, getting up out of her seat. She yanked Percy out of his chair and made him call Stacie over.

"Yeah?" Stacie asked full of hope. Annabeth rolled her eyes, "We'll take the bill, please."

Stacie glanced over at Annabeth as if seeing her there for the first time, "Okay, I'll be back in a second."

The eager waitress came back with bill and handed it to Percy. He gave her the money and thanked her.

"Come on! We're leaving!" Percy called to Grover and Tyson. Grover stumbled out of his seat, and Tyson just looked up from his pasta bowl. He looked heartbroken, "Why? Why are we leaving?"

"Um, because they're closing soon!" Percy lied, gently pushing Tyson out of his seat. Man, he was heavy!

Tyson looked around the restaurant, still crowded with lots of people seated and eating their food as waiters and waitresses weaved around tables getting to orders. Oh yeah, this place definitely looked like it was closing!

Grover glanced from Percy and Tyson still back at the table to Annabeth who was waiting a few steps away, arms crossed, and foot tapping impatiently. He turned around and called out to them, "Come on, you guys! Annabeth is waiting!"

He approached Percy and Tyson while Annabeth followed behind him. Unfortunately, Grover wasn't watching where he was going, so he collided with a waiter carrying a jug of ice cold water, who managed to dump it all over Annabeth. Annabeth screamed as the ice water splashed her unexpectedly.

"Oh my Gods," Percy muttered. He ran over to where she stood frozen. The waiter and Grover kept apologizing to her while she just nodded her head.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked her nervously.

He was dead. Yes, Annabeth was going to kill him. He was _so _dead.

She glared at him, "Do I _LOOK _oka-" She stopped herself and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I'll just run to the bathroom which is…"She looked to the waiter expectedly.

"In the back of the restaurant opposite the kitchen doors," He recited. "And I'm sorry. Really."

She smiled weakly, "That's okay."

"I'll be right back," Annabeth said to Percy as she walked past him heading to the restroom. Tyson came over to where Percy and Grover were standing.

"Why is Annabeth wet?" He demanded.

"She had water dumped on her by a waiter," Percy answered.

"A WAITER?!" Tyson cried, looking around angrily for the waiter responsible.

"Hey there! It's okay! It was an accident!"

"Oh. Okay," He shrugged.

Grover turned to Percy. "You don't think she'll be _that_ mad, do you?" he asked nervously.

"Knowing Annabeth, she'll probably blame the whole thing on me, but it's cool," Percy shrugged.

"Gee, I'm really sorry, it's just Juniper and me got into a fight and that's the only thing that's been on my mind and –"

"Hey, it's okay, and I'm sorry. About you and Juniper. I'm sure you two will work it out," Percy said, patting Grover on the back. It was weird giving him relationship advice, especially when he hadn't had too much experience himself. But then again, he was dating Annabeth for awhile now, and _that _deserved some credit.

"So what were you two doing out anyway? Was it a special occasion or what?" Grover asked.

Percy stared at him blankly. "Uh, no. We were just on a date."

"Oh! Why didn't you tell me? Tyson and I would've totally left!"

_You have got to be kidding me, _thought Percy.

"Whoops, it must've slipped my mind."

* * * *

Percy had been standing outside the restaurant for ten minutes now. How long was Annabeth going to be in the restroom? Seriously she better hurry out here, he was pretty uncomfortable with Stacie winking at him every few seconds through the restaurant's window. She even had the nerve to come out and write down her phone number on his hand in Sharpie, despite his objections.

Finally, _finally, _Annabeth came out the front door of the restaurant, spotting Percy and heading over to him. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, still slightly wet, and had zipped up her navy hoodie on top of her wet sky blue tank top.

"Hey," Percy said taking her hand and leading her down the pavement.

Annabeth laughed. "You look as though I'm gonna strangle you any minute!" she exclaimed, playfully tugging at his arm.

Percy raised his eyebrows, "Are you?"

Annabeth tapped her finger to her lips mockingly, "I'll let this slide, but the next time we're out on a date and I get soaked with ice water and I'm taking you down."

"Looking forward to it," Percy gave her a lopsided grin. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and watched in delight as her cheeks turned a rosy red.

"Stop it!" She cried clearly embarrassed. "You just do that to watch me blush."

Percy ignored this, "Honestly, though, I'm sorry about tonight. it was kind of ruined, wasn't it?"

"Oh, you think?"

"To be fair, I had no idea we were going on a double date with Grover and Tyson."

"Okay, Seaweed Brain."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad. Wasn't it kind of entertaining watching Tyson eat pasta? No one eats pasta like him."

Annabeth giggled at the sight of tomato sauce smeared all over the Cyclops's face as he had swallowed down her dinner. "Oh yeah, totally entertaining."

"How do you think the evening went in general?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "You really want me to answer that?"

Percy bumped her in the shoulder.

"Oh, this was the definitely the best date ever."

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**A/N : Thanks for reading this ridiculously long chapter, especially since I know it wasn't my best! Reviews and advice are completely appreciated! Next chapter will be better, haha which means fluffy moments coming up! Also, if you have any ideas for other chapters, include it with your comment or PM me!**

**Thanks a million!**


	8. Circle of Love

**A/N : Hey people! Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I last updated, but I was traveling. So right now I'm writing to you guys from a computer at a Marriott hotel in NYC! Cool huh? This is especially amazing because PERCY LIVES IN NEW YORK CITY! And I'm in NEW YORK CITY!**

**No way, I'm so not **_**obsessed **_**with PJO! Why would you **_**ever**_** think that?!? Ok anyways, here's my new chapter for you guys! As I told you before, after trying humor (eh, that was shameful), I'm back to writing what I write best -fluffy fluff!**

**Yay! So get ready to smile and shake your head and feel all tingly inside at all the cheesy moments coming up!**

**Happy Reading!**

**

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**

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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8. Circle of Love

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He loved her.

He was certain now. After the movie date, they had come back to his apartment. They had lied on the couch, legs tangled and arms holding one another, slowly bringing their lips to each other. Each kiss had more passion, more urgency, and more desperation for more. He had knotted his hands in her soft hair, breathing in her scent. He'd stare into her stormy gray eyes, trying to memorize her face, so that she'd never leave his memories.

And as she had gently pushed him off her and whispered that she needed to get back home, he wanted to say so badly to her that he loved her.

But he didn't.

And here he was, pondering about it, frustrating over it, wondering why he hadn't said those three special words.

He thought back to the first year they had met, where she was obsessed with getting a quest and he simply wanted some answers and his mother back.

Then his thoughts went to his second summer at camp, getting Tyson as a brother, sneaking out of camp, and how he and Annabeth had become close friends.

Then to his third year at camp, how his feelings for Annabeth were stronger, how he was so desperate to get her back, and yet Athena had greatly disapproved of him.

Fourth summer at camp was complicated, he'd rather not think about anything else but that first kiss at Mt. Helena they had shared.

And this last year everything had sort of come together

He knew he loved her, these feelings he had for her were more than what a typical boyfriend felt for his girlfriend. And this made sense. He and Annabeth had been through so much. They had saved each others' lives, he knew her fatal flaw, and she knew his Achilles' heel, his weakness, the part of him that connected him to his mortal soul.

Together they had come this far. They had traveled in a full circle. Their circle started with arguing every second to becoming best friends to something a little more. After all, love was a circle.

Inside the ongoing circle of life, was a more precious circle of love. This circle contained memories, moments that made a one particular person glow. The circle went on, faster at some times, every cycle bringing new or stronger feelings and new recollections.

Sometimes, distractions or confusion were tossed into the circle.

There was a time when Percy thought that maybe he could be with Rachel. He liked her very much. He felt comfortable around her, but he later realized that his feelings for her were nothing more than feelings for a close, dear friend.

Then there was Luke. Annabeth loved Luke, but in a different way, Percy now understood. For a very long time, Luke had cared for her, when Percy wasn't there yet, he had protected her and watched out for her and promised her something she had never experienced – a true family. Annabeth loved him like a brother, sweet and gentle love.

So the circle had gone slower throughout these moments, as they both tried to figure out their feelings and realize that in the end they had always felt love for each other.

Their circle was going fast now. They spent time everyday together - talking, laughing and sharing affectionate moments. They still argued occasionally, but their arguments were more playful now and not very serious, because they knew that in the end they'd both give in and start making out instead.

Then why hadn't he said that he loved her yet?

What was he so afraid of? Her not saying it back? Her not feeling the same way?

She did though. He was sure of it. Sometimes when she'd gently place her hands against his chest, signaling him to give her some space; he pulled himself away from her lips and stare into her eyes. The way she looked at him made him melt, made his heart beat ten times faster, made a blush blossom across his face, it was as though she was saying _I love you_ just by looking at him.

He knew what he was afraid of now. He was afraid of changing things between them, messing things up, and ruining their beautiful circle.

He was afraid of what would happen next after saying I love you to her, he was afraid of what the next cycle would bring.

But whether or not he decided to tell her those three words did not stop the circle.

For this circle, this circle of love, was unstoppable, limits as far as the universe stretched, going round and round, and it would still go round, no matter what happened. Because love went on. It kept giving and giving and it never ran out. Because the circle of love was limitless, and whether or not those three words were exchanged between Percy and Annabeth, their love would still go on.

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**A/N : So how was that? I kinda liked how it made you go "**_**awwwwww!"**_**. Haha so, please review, it means the world to me! Criticism is appreciated too. And if you have any ideas for upcoming chapters please include it in your review or PM me!**

**Thanks you guys!**


	9. Three Special Words

**A/N : Wow, two updates in one day! I'm on a roll! So this chapter kind of ties together with Circle of Love, you'll see why.**

**Enjoy!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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10. Three Special Words

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Percy and Annabeth had done the whole typical date thing. It was kind of funny to Percy how they –a couple more complicated than anyone could imagine- had done the whole ordinary movie-and-pizza date.

"Why are we doing this again?" he had asked her, wrapping his arms around her slender and now more profound waist while they waited in line for movie tickets. He was glancing around the theater noticing many normal couples out on a normal date leading normal lives which neither he nor Annabeth could never relate to.

She had smiled softly at him, a smile that had made his heart soar, "Don't you think it'd be fun to at least _try _to be a typical boyfriend and girlfriend out on a typical date?"

"Why try at something that you know you'll never succeed at?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. She did that _way _too much. Percy shut his mouth and decided – for his girlfriend's sake – to at least _try_ to be a typical boyfriend, which apparently meant (he had found out after the date was over) paying for the movie _and _the pizza.

Afterwards they had taken their regular walk through Central Park, resulting in them kissing pressed up against a tree trunk. However, this evening, Percy would pull away from Annabeth more often, not because he didn't want to kiss her but because he wanted to stare at her, he wanted to freeze time with her in his arms, he wanted – he wanted her. He loved her.

He had been too much of a coward to say it to her. But now, ten minutes after dropping her off at Crystal's apartment building, and taking a cab back to his apartment, he completely regretted not saying his true feelings to her. She deserved to know how much she meant to him and how she was his whole world now. She deserved to be told those three special words.

Which is why Percy had suddenly got up from his bed, raced past the living room, in which his mother and Paul were watching a rerun of _Friends_, and into the kitchen.

"Someone's in a hurry!" His mother had called out pointedly to him.

Percy just nodded as he grabbed the phone off its receiver and began dialing the seven-digit number he'd now memorized.

"Of course he is, he's got to call his amazing girlfriend back because they've been apart for exactly ten minutes now," Paul chuckled, winking at Percy. Percy felt himself go red, and his mom laughed.

"Maybe I should make this phone call in my room," he muttered as he slipped away behind the confines of his own bedroom. Percy held the phone to his ear, listening to the annoying dial tone, waiting for her voice to answer.

"Hey, Percy."

He felt himself blush again just at the sound of her voice. "Hey."

Silence. "Is there a reason you called since you were just with me about, oh, ten minutes ago?"

"Yeah." That's all he was able to say. Stupid Percy. Just spit it out already!

"What? Have you missed me already?" Annabeth laughed quietly. Percy pressed the phone to his ear harder wanting her happy laugh to fill his ears.

"Annabeth?"

"Yes?"

"Hi."

She sighed, "Percy! Seriously stop bothering me. Bye!"

He was about to lose his chance again. "No! Wait!"

"What?" No answer.

"Hello? Percy?"

"Yeah, I'm right here."

"Oh." _Get to the point_, she wanted to have snapped at him instead.

"You know what? I gotta go, my mom's calling me," He replied suddenly.

"Oh. Okay."

"Yeah."  
"Are you feeling alright Percy?"

"What? Yeah. Why?"

"You're acting strange and it's kind of scaring me."

"Oh."

"Yeah, so I guess you have to go?"

"Oh, yeah. Bye."

"Bye," Annabeth shook her head, smiling to herself. He must have fallen on his way back home and received a major head concussion.

"WAIT! Annabeth?"

Another sigh."Yes, Percy?" Was he going to keep this up all night?

"I love you." And then that Seaweed Brain hung up.

She stood there for a minute, paralyzed, and wondering if she had just heard him correctly, or if it was her mind playing tricks on her.

"I love you too," She whispered into the phone.

Right then she wished he had not been such a Seaweed Brain and had waited a few more seconds on the phone just to hear her say those three special words back to him.

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**A/N : Hope you liked it! As always, reviews are**_** so-greatly-deeply-extremely-totally-sincerely-trul**_**y appreciated!**

**Thanks a million :D**


	10. Drama Queen

**A/N : Three updates in one day! *HAPPY DANCE***

**Haha you must be wondering how stupid I am to spend my time in NYC typing on fanfiction instead of going sightseeing!Don't worry, right now my family's totally jet-lagged so we're staying at the hotel all evening which may possibly mean even MORE updates!**

**I must say I've truly out done myself - this chapter ends in such a cheesy way!**

**But oh well, this is me we're talking about and I belive that**_**: fluffy + percabeth=great story! ****I hope you think that too, or else you're reading all my chapters for no reason.**_

**Wow, this is turning out to be a very long author's note! Okay, I'll stop now!**

**Happy Reading!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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10. Drama Queen

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**Annabeth's PoINT of ViEW:**

"Um, Kyle? Yeah, that's my hair you're pulling," I sighed, as Kyle, Crystal's five-year-old half-brother, giggled and tugged at my ponytail again despite me just telling him _not_ to.

"Okay, that's it!" I throw down my worn copy of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ which I was reading and picked Kyle up. "You are being extremely annoying, tonight, mister," I told him, waving my finger in his face as I carried him to his room. It was Friday night and Crystal was out shopping with Alicia, a demigod from the Aphrodite cabin. Crystal's dad and stepmom, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, were out late attending a business meeting in Brooklyn. This meant that I was stuck in the apartment babysitting Kyle and Courtney, Crystal's seven-year-old half-sister. Great, that's exactly how I want to spend a Friday night!

Courtney came skipping into Kyle's bedroom wearing a ridiculous purple tutu, a pink crown, and long white gloves. She watched as I set Kyle on his bed and handed him a box filled with his dinosaur toys. "Kyle, please, _please_ stay in here and play with your toys and let me finish my book!" I begged the five-year-old. He just laughed and threw his toy T-Rex across his room and watched in delight as it hit the wall with a thud.

"Uh-oh! Kyle's being a naughty boy! We need to take his toys away from him!" Courtney announced as she twirled over to Kyle and snatched the toy box out from his hands. He started kicking his feet and wailing like a baby. "Give it back, Court! I WANT IT! Give it BACK!"

I pressed my fingertips to my temples. "Oh, Gods, just give him back his toys, Court!"

She stuck her tongue out as me, that little brat, but thankfully did as she was told.

Kyle immediately stopped crying and went on to play with his plastic dinosaurs.

"I'm hungry! The princess is HUNGRY!" Courtney exclaimed, tugging at my t-shirt.

"Okay, how about I make you a grilled cheese sandwich? Then will you leave me alone?"

"Hmmm. It depends. If you make me an extra special grilled cheese sandwich, then I will!" She stated, putting her hands on her hip. What the heck is an "extra special grilled cheese sandwich"? Ugh, I'm _so _not in the mood for this.

"Okay, one extra special grilled cheese, coming up," I say, taking her hand and walking into the kitchen. The Evans have a toaster oven, so I got out a slice of Kraft cheese, sandwiched it in between two slices of toast, and placed it in the toaster. Just then the doorbell rang.

"ANNABETH! THE DOORBELL RANG!" Courtney yelled even though I was standing right across from her. What is wrong with this little girl?

"Thank you, Courtney, my hearing is perfectly fine, so I _did_ hear the doorbell ring, but thanks for yelling it anyway."

"Yep, you're welcome!"

I ran to the door, hoping it was someone coming to save me from this miserable Friday evening. I flung the door open and saw a boy about my age with messy dark hair, mesmerizing green eyes, and a lopsided smile leaning against the door frame.

"Percy!" I flung myself at him. He pulled me into a tight hug, "Hey, looks like someone is happy to see me," he whispers in my ear.

I pull away from him, "Who?"

He rolls his eyes at me. "Are you going to invite me in or can we just make out right here?"

I felt my cheeks get hot. "Um, we can't."

He raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean we can't?"

"We can't."

He rolled his eyes again –hmm, he seemed to being doing that a lot lately, must be something he picked up from me - "Yes, thank you, I get that, but I'm asking _why_ can't we?"

I heard Courtney's footsteps behind me.I opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Because."

Percy smirked, staring down at the little girl in a tutu singing The Little Mermaid's _Part of Your World_. "You're stuck babysitting?"

"Babysitting?! Excuse me, mister, but I am seven! I do not need a babysitter, thank you very much!" Courtney exclaimed, obviously listening in on our conversation.

I raised my eyebrows, while Percy just smiled at her, "Oh, I'm sorry, miss. I had no idea you were seven!"

"Yes, I am!"

"Amazing!"

"It is, isn't it?" Miss Courtney – the little drama queen.

"Okay!" I said, gently pushing Courtney away from the door. "Why don't you-

"ANNABETH! I SMELL FIRE! HELP! I SMELL FIRE!" Kyle came running out of the kitchen. What in God's name is he talking ab- Oh my Gods the grilled cheese!

I run to the kitchen and Percy follows behind me. There is smoke rising up from the toaster; I'm surprised the smoke alarm hasn't gone off yet. Percy spots oven mitts on the countertop and he throws them to me. I catch them and quickly slip them on. Carefully, I reach into the toaster – The sandwich is completely burnt and black! Yuck! – And toss it into the trash can. Percy reaches over and unplugs the toaster and I turn on the ceiling fan on, hoping it'll clear away the smoke.

"Good teamwork," Percy says, grinning ear to ear. He's so stupid- I watch him run his hand through his hair, messing it up even more – and cute.

"My grilled cheese!" Courtney whines, as she runs over to me. She's upset over some burnt grilled cheese sandwich? Seriously?

"It's okay, I'm sure Percy here will make you a grilled cheese," I say, patting Court on the back. Percy shoots me a _thanks-a-lot_ look which I ignore.

Courtney's eyes go wide open and a wide smile stretches across her face. "You're _Percy_?" She asks, pointing to him.

"Uh, yeah," He replies, glancing at me confused. I just shrug.

"Oh my God! You're Annabeth's _boyfriend_!"

Percy blushes and it takes everything for me to not go over there and duct tape Courtney's mouth shut.

"Percy and Annabeth sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Wait, you have kissed her right?"

Percy turns a whole shade redder. "You have! You have!" Courtney exclaims. "I've heard a LOT about you," she says, fluttering her eyelashes.

Kyle chooses this perfect moment to peek his little head into the kitchen. "Annabeth has a _boyfriend_?"

"No, Percy's just a really good-

"Yes! Duh! Keep up, Kyle," Courtney replies, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Kiss her!" screams Kyle in delight. Oh, Gods, this is what I get for wanting a more eventful Friday night! Well, wish granted, Annabeth.

"Yes! Kiss her! Percy, KISS HER!"

Percy shuffles uncomfortably on his feet and sticks his hands in his pockets, "Uh, I don't think –"

"KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER!" The two little twerps start chanting. I swear, as soon as Percy leaves they are going to be sent to the longest time-out in their life.

Percy catches my eye and for some reason I start to giggle. Uncontrollably. Great, I'm giggling uncontrollably! Percy raises his eyebrows and then he starts to laugh too, harder and harder. We're now both cracking up as Kyle and Courtney exchange glances, wondering what they missed.

"This is secret boyfriend/girlfriend talk," Courtney whispers to Kyle.

"Ooooh!" Kyle nods his head as though he totally gets what's going on.

"We'll leave you two_ alone_," giggles Courtney, winking at me. I fell my face grow hot again. I'm still cracking up though, and I'm still not sure why. Courtney grabs Kyle's hand and yanks him out of the kitchen. They both run into Courtney's room and shut the door. They're giving us _privacy. _I flush even more just thinking about that.

Percy's recovered from his laughter fit and he takes my hand pulling me towards the couch.

"What was that all about?" he asks, once we're all tangled up on the couch. I'm sitting in his lap, his arms are hugging me, and I can feel his breath on the top of my head. Hmmm, this is pretty comfortable.

"What?"

"Why were you laughing?"

"Well, why were you?"

I feel him shrug and I lean back into him farther.

"I don't know. Maybe it was their little chant that got me…"

I blushed. "Gods, I'm sorry about them, they can be _so _annoying."

Percy laughs, and I smile just at the sound of it. "It's okay, they're pretty funny, especially that Courtney."

"Oh, she's something, all right."

"But I have to say, I'm curious, what stuff have you been saying about me?"

"Uh, noth-nothing." Even though I can't see him, I can practically feel the skeptical look he's giving me right now. "Nothing _bad_," I clarify.

"Hm, have you mentioned my good looks and irresistible charm?"

"Um, I'm talking about Percy. Who are _you_ talking about?"

"Ouch, that hurt. That really, really hurt Annabeth."

I roll my eyes, "Whatever."

"Whatever? WHATEVER? You insult me, and then say whatever?"

He fake-wrestles me and I laugh and protest the whole time. All of a sudden, I'm lying across the coach and Percy's pressed on top of me. "Hey!" I cry as he wraps his hands around my wrists like handcuffs on a prisoner.

"Ha-ha," he replies mockingly. I try to kick him off me, but he's locks his legs around mine, preventing me from doing anything. Stupid invincible boyfriend.

"You're trapped," Percy whispers in my ear and kisses me so gently that I'm positive I'm going to melt right there.

I raise my eyebrows. "I could bite you," I say and he just laughs in my face.

"Shut up," I growl, fidgeting underneath him. That just makes him laugh harder and he kisses my neck.

I keep trying to struggle against him, but Percy just presses me deeper into the coach. I manage to free my hands from his and I press my palms against his chest pushing him away. He abruptly lets go of me and sits up.

"Gods, Annabeth, what's wrong with you?" Yikes, he sounds pissed. Really pissed. Doesn't he realize I was just joking when I was pushing him away?

I sit up cautiously, aware of the anger dripping off of him. His green eyes are fixed ahead. I know I've done something wrong when he doesn't dare look at me.

I sigh, "Percy?" No answer. "Percy?" I say, a little more forcefully. "Sorry about – about…wait, what am I sorry about exactly?"I ask jokingly. I immediately want to take back what I said because I'm afraid he'll just get more annoyed.

I stare at him, waiting for his reaction, and see him roll his eyes and crack a crooked smile. Yes!

He pulls me into his lap again. "You're sorry for making it so hard for me to kiss you, you idiot," Percy whispers, planting a kiss on my lips.

I shake my head, "You're just like Courtney."

His eyebrows scrunch together while I smile to myself, "You're both such drama queens!"

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**A/N : Thanks so much to everyone who is reviewing! I love getting reviews! (hint, hint)**

**Here's a little preview of the next chapter that I'm working on:**

_**(Percy's POV)**_

_**"Remind me again why I decided to come with you?" I ask my mom; nervously glancing around the Godiva store we're in as if any minute a monster might pop out and try to kill me. Well, in my case, that actually might happen. You know, since I'm a half-blood. Anyways, we're here at the stupid Godiva chocolate store because my mom is picking up an order of chocolate covered strawberries for Saturday evening.**_

_**Geez, just thinking about Saturday makes my head hurt and my stomach do a flip.**_

_**Annabeth's dad, stepmom, and half-brothers are flying in from San Francisco Thursday night to spend Spring break with Annabeth here in the city. When my mom heard that her dad would be in town, of course she had to go ahead and invite them for dinner at our place on Saturday. Not only did I point out to my mom (several times, I should add) that this was going to be extremely awkward for me and Annabeth, but also extremely awkward for her dad and stepmom since they don't even know my mom.**_

_**"Which is exactly why this dinner is an excellent idea, this way we can meet each other and get to know one another," my mom had replied excitedly. "Besides, I want to meet my future in-laws before the wedding."**_

_**Oh, Gods, I think I almost fainted when she said that. At least Annabeth wasn't there when my mom said it.**_

**Yay! I'm having lots of fun writing this next chapter! Hope you guys will like it when I post it! :)**


	11. Meet the Parents I

**A/N : Hey, I know I haven't updated in awhile! I'm sorry(insert puppy dog eyes here)! So here's my next one-shot, but it's only Part 1 of Meet the Parents.**

**It ended up being way too long to all be under one chapter, so I just split it into two parts!**

**Prettty smart, huh?**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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7. Meet the Parents

Part 1

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**Percy's PoINT Of ViEW**

"Remind me again _why_ I decided to come with you?" I ask my mom; nervously glancing around the Godiva store we're in as if any minute a monster might pop out and try to kill me. Well, in my case, that actually might happen. You know, since I'm a half-blood. Anyways, we're here at the stupid Godiva chocolate store because my mom is picking up an order of chocolate covered strawberries for Saturday evening.

Geez, just thinking about Saturday makes my head hurt and my stomach do a flip.

Annabeth's dad, stepmom, and half-brothers are flying in from San Francisco Thursday night to spend Spring break with Annabeth here in the city. When my mom heard that her family would be in town, of course she had to go ahead and invite them for dinner at our place on Saturday. Not only did I point out to my mom (several times, I should add) that this was going to be extremely awkward for me and Annabeth, but also extremely awkward for her dad and stepmom since they don't even know my mom.

"Which is exactly why this dinner is an excellent idea, this way we can meet each other and get to know one another," my mom had replied excitedly. "Besides, I want to meet my future in-laws _before_ the wedding."

Oh, Gods, I think I almost fainted when she said that. At least Annabeth wasn't there when my mom said it.

So here I was. My mom shook her head at me, "Percy, you came because you were going to help me, not nag about why you're here."

I rolled my eye and muttered a sorry. She walked to the back of the store, carrying the box of chocolate covered strawberries to the cash register.

I strolled around the store with my hands in my pockets, obviously bored.

"Percy!" I turned to the sound of my name calling.

There were two girls, one with long jet-straight dirty blonde hair. The other had had sparkling golden hair that came tumbling down her shoulders in uncontrollable curls. That girl was none other than my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. The other girl was Crystal, one of Annabeth's half-siblings.

I walked over to them, thankful to see them.

"Hey, Percy," Crystal greeted me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with my mom – she's getting stuff for dinner Saturday night."

"Ah, I see," Crystal replies, Annabeth probably told her about the disaster it's going to be. I smile nervously at Annabeth and she just laughs.

"Don't worry, Seaweed Brain. I'm sure we'll survive."

I shoot her a skeptical look. Oh, yeah, sure, it'll be totally fine. I mean, what could go wrong? It's not like my mother talks even _more_ when she's nervous resulting in her blurting out every embarrassing baby story about me! Wait a minute. Whoops, she does do that!

Well, so much for the dinner being fine.

Annabeth rolls her eyes at me. Crystal blurts out, "What are you so worried about, Percy? Afraid your future in-laws won't like you?"

I blush, feeling my cheeks grow hot, while Annabeth stomps on Crystal's foot hard. "Ow! Geez, Annabeth! I was JOKING," She turns to me. "I was just joking, Percy."

"Yeah, uh, I know."

An awkward silence followed. Annabeth and I caught each other's eyes. We both smiled and Crystal's eyebrows shot up.

"Uh, maybe I should leave you two alone," She said, smirking.

Annabeth blushed, "You don't have-"

"Oh no! It's okay," She insisted. "I'll be in Abercrombie right next door, if you need me." She started to walk away and Annabeth just shrugged.

"So what have you been up to?" I asked her, running my hand through my hair. Why did I always get nervous around her?

"Nothing really." Suddenly, Annabeth raised her eyebrow and smiled cockily. "Well, actually, last night, I went to my boyfriend's apartment, and we were very busy with, you know, stuff."

I could feel my cheeks burning as I blushed, remembering the night before. Annabeth had come over just as Paul and my mom had gone out to dinner. And we sort of spent the entire time making out in my room.

Annabeth laughed looking at my red face. "Geez, loosen up, Percy."

I crossed my arms against my chest. But before I could say anything my mom came over to us.

"Annabeth! Funny, seeing you here."

"Hi, Mrs. Jackson. Yeah, Crystal and I were just hanging out at the mall."

"We're just here picking a few things for the dinner on Saturday," my mom nudged me, signaling me to say something.

"Oh, yeah, I can't wait," I said, gritting my teeth.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me, but thankfully for once, kept her mouth shut.

"Well, I should get going. Crystal's waiting for me," she turned to my mom. "Nice seeing you Mrs. Jackson. Bye, Percy!"

"Bye," I said. It was weird just seeing her leave like that. I mean, usually these days we'd hug goodbye or kiss goodbye or whatever. But there was no way I was going to do that in front of my mom. Why giver her more reason to tease me?

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"Percy! They're going to be here in FIVE MINUTES! Why aren't you ready yet?" My mom yelled.

She'd been doing that a lot lately. Just this morning, I saw a basket full of fruit on the kitchen counter and I took an apple from it. But before I could put it in my mouth, my mom came running over to me yelling, "NO! Don't you DARE eat that!" I gave her a confused look, and she grabbed the apple from my hand, put it back in the basket, and explained how the basket full of fruit was just for decoration. Okay then…we're just going to leave a basket full of fruit sitting on the counter because it looks pretty. Yeah, that _so_ makes sense.

I think she's also really paranoid about this dinner because she's spent the whole day scrubbing down every little spot in the apartment. The apartment had never looked so clean.

Anyway the reason I was taking so long was because I couldn't figure out how to fix this stupid tie my mom was making me wear.

"Ugh!" I cried as I watched the tie come undone again. I heard a muffled laugh, and I looked over to the doorway of my room to see Annabeth standing there with an amused expression. Crap, I didn't know she was already here.

"Come here," she laughed. I blushed but obeyed, walking over to her. I watched as she reached over in one swift movement and knotted my tie and tucked it under the collar of my shirt.

"Okay, how can you do that when I can't?" I sighed. She shrugged, giggling.

"Come on, you have to meet my dad and step mom," Annabeth replied taking my hand and leading me out of the living room.

It was so weird seeing Mr. and Mrs. Chase sitting there in our living room. They were both talking to my mom and Paul, although he looked pretty uncomfortable too, fingering his tie very few minutes. Bobby and Matthew were busy playing on their own PSP. Frederick saw me walk into the room first, so he got up from the couch and offered his hand. I awkwardly shook it.

"Hi, Mr. Chase."

"Hello, Percy, long time no see!" he said jokingly.

Mrs. Chase got up too. Her dark wavy hair was tied up in a tight bun and she wore a simple black dress.

"Hi, Percy."

"Hey, Mrs. Chase."

Just then the oven started beeping. My mom excused herself to go check on the food and Mrs. Chase offered to go help in the kitchen. Frederick and Paul sat back down on the couch and talked about something boring – politics, I think. Annabeth laced her fingers through my mine and gave my hand a little tug.

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain, calm down."

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. She was right. What was I so worried about? I ran my hand through my hair and tried to give her a calm smile. I failed miserably and instead looked as though I was cringing instead of smiling.

She laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous. It's kind of cute." She kissed me on the cheek as I rolled my eyes.

"Ew, can you two please get a room?"

I blushed and so did Annabeth. Bobby had just looked up from his PSP in time to see Annabeth kiss me on the cheek. Matthew looked up from his PSP too. He cracked a smile and high-fived Bobby. Annabeth glared at him.

"What was that? What did you say?" Her gray eyes were stormy and she looked pretty scary. Even I knew better than to mess with her.

"Uh, nothing," Bobby said nervously. Matthew started laughing and Bobby punched him in the shoulder. Annabeth smirked. She looked over to me and I just stared at her amusedly.

"What?" she asked innocently. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Percy, Annabeth! Dinner's ready!"

And the nerves were back.

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**A/N : Ta-da! What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Needs improvement? Tell me because I wanna know!**


	12. Meet the Parents II

**A/N : Here's Part 2 of Meet the Parents!**

**Includes annoying stepbrothers, an embarrassing moment, and, of course, some making out. So read on!**

**Special thanks to: _Future Mrs. Seaweed Brain, leprechaunsarekronos'sservants _(holy crap, that's a long name!), _percabeth777, Demeter And Artemis Rock, BlueJeans12, bombplaya3,_and _Lives in Sunrise_ ****for being the first people to review on Meet the Parents - Part 1!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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12. Meet the Parents

Part 2

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**Annabeth's PoiNT of ViEW:**

"Percy, Annabeth! Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Jackson called.

Percy suddenly looked as though someone had just pantsed him in the middle of Times Square. What was his problem? Why was he so worried? After all, it was my job to worry. He was the kelp head who jumped over a river without realizing it was full of boy-hungry alligators, and I was the one screaming, "No, you idiot! DON'T JUMP!"

I let go of his hand and walked over to where Bobby and Matthew were busy wrestling each other. Ugh, boys.

"Bobby. Matthew. Dinner's ready!"

"You stupid little kid, let go!" Bobby cried as Matthew pinned him down to the ground.

"Little? I was born first!"

I sighed. "Hello? Hey! Stop fighting!" Trying to get their attention, I grabbed both of their arms and pulled them off of each other. "Come on, dinner is ready and we are not going to wait for you two any longer," I say slowly, almost patronizingly.

"Okay, MOM. Whatever you say, MOM," Bobby snickers.

"Yeah, MOM."

"Stop, it's only cool when I say it."

"Whatever." And they went back to wrestling each other. Great.

Suddenly someone's arm wrapped around my waist. Percy. I turn my head to look at him. He offers me a crooked smile and I return it with a sheepish smile.

"Let's go and leave these two" – he flashes an uneasy look at my stepbrothers trying to throw punches at each other– "alone," Percy finishes.

"Okay," I reply weakly. His arm gently placed around me is sending an electrical shock through me, making it impossible to think straight.

We walk into the dining room where everyone is already seated.

"Come on, the food is going to get cold and-" Mrs. Jackson stops as her gaze lingers to Percy's arm around me. Percy and I both blush and he hastily removes his arm. Talk about embarrassing.

Mrs. Jackson tries to collect herself, "And…and…"

"And we wouldn't want that to happen, since Sally spent all day making this meal!" my step mom, comes to rescue. Sally mouths a thank-you to her, but she doesn't see it because she's busy watching me.

I stare back into her dark eyes wondering what could be going on in her mind right now as she stares at me. Then she flashes me a small, yet distinct, smile and winks. I blush even brighter and smile sheepishly back at her.

Percy and I stumble to our seats and absentmindedly eat through all the food Sally has loaded on our plates. Ever once in a while, our eyes would meet and he'd blush and I'd giggle.

When we finished our dinner, we both pushed back our plates and got up from our chair.

"Done," we said simultaneously. Paul chuckled.

"Done already?" Mrs. Jackson asked amusedly.

"Yes, thank you," I replied. "It was really good, Mrs. Jackson."

"Uh, yeah, thanks Mom."

"Yeah, so we should go-go-" I shoot Percy a desperate glance.

"Go check on Bobby and Matthew. You know, make sure they're not killing each other or something," He finishes for me.

Mrs. Jackson raised her eyebrows, but laughed along with everyone else.

We excused ourselves and ran out of the dining room and into Percy's bedroom. Thankful to be away from our parents, Percy let out a sigh and dropped back onto his bed.

"That didn't go so bad," I reply trying to sound positive.

Percy groans, "Oh, of course not. Except for the part when your dad saw me with my arm around his daughter's waist."

"It wasn't a big deal," I try to assure him. I bite my lip in order to choke back a laugh, but I fail and start laughing anyway.

"Great. Thanks, Annabeth."

"I'm sorry!" I cry, in the middle of laughing, "It's just kind of funny to me, how this dinner is such a big deal to you."

He rolls his eyes. "Okay, well, first your dad and step mom are here. Ana I am here. We are officially meeting. How's that not a big deal?"

"It isn't," I say, as he signals for me to sit in his lap. I do and he starts to absentmindedly stroke my hair.  
"Look, it doesn't matter what they think of you," I start to say. He snorts, "Yeah, right."

I sigh, "When did you get so stubborn?"

"I was always stubborn," he replies grinning.

"Oh, of course, how could I forget?"

"Hey, don't roll your eyes at me! I bet it was my stubbornness that made you fall in love with me."

"No, I think it was your lack of brains."

"Ha-ha," he retorts. "Wait a minute – you just admitted that you love me."

"NO! I didn't," I insist shaking my head so hard, I'm sure it's going to fall off.

"Yes, you did. You love me. A lot," He says smirking. "Just admit it, Annabeth."

"No, I don't." He just laughs at me and I feel my cheeks grow hot and red. He presses his lips to the side of my neck.

"You so love me," he whispers against my neck. He moves his lips to my left cheek and plants a long, gentle kiss on it. My heart skips a beat.

"I never said that," my voice comes out hoarse. He kisses me once more on the cheek. My skin feels as though it's on fire when his hand gently presses against the side of my face, forcing me to face him.

"So? You don't have to say it. I already know you do," he replies smugly. But before I can say anything else, my lips are suddenly much too busy doing something else.

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**Percy's PoiNT of ViEW:**

"Bye!"

"Goodbye, nice meeting you!"

"Oh, you too!"

"BYE, ANNABETH'S BOYFIREND!"

"Matthew. Bobby. SHUT UP!"

"Good night!"

"Bye!"

My mom closed the door to our apartment after, once again, saying good-bye to the Chases.

How many times does someone need to say bye?

She sighed happily and turned around to face Paul and me, both of us sprawled out on the couch already watching ESPN. Although I wasn't really paying attention to the TV. All I could think of was the way Annabeth's lips felt against mine - soft, warm, and inviting.

"That went well, don't you think?" She asked us. Paul smiled, "Yeah, Annabeth's folks seem real nice." My mother nodded eagerly.

"See Percy? Tonight wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked, sitting on the couch next to me.

I felt my cheeks flush thinking it felt to have Annabeth's breath against my face, how her hair felt silky tangled in-between my fingers, and how her hands felt so good around my neck.

"Yeah, I guess tonight wasn't so bad after all."

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**A/N : Haha, I don't know why Percy and Annabeth always end up kissing in my stories...well, I guess it might have something to do with the fact that I'm a diehard Percabeth supporter, but whatever! Thanks for reading -**_** and remember: **_**reviews are so amazingly appreciated! :)**


	13. Just Curious

**A/N : This is short and sweet chapter - just for fun. I had written this awhile ago, but I could never find a chapter to put this small scene in. But it's pretty funny (at least I think so :D), so I decided to post it by itself.**

**This is just a scene between Percy & Annabeth taking place where ever you want it to!**

**Use your imagination!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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13. Just Curious

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"Hey Annabeth?" Percy says. I turned to him. That tone he used was an _I'm-going-to-ask-stupid-questions _tone, a tone I knew all too well.

"Yes?"

"If you have kids, are they gonna spring from your head too?" He started cracking up.

I kicked him in the shins. Hard. Ha-ha.

His laughing stopped as quickly as it started. "OW! Jeez, Annabeth!" He cries, as he whimpers over.

Whatever, Seaweed Brain. That'll teach to you to stop asking stupid questions.

"Why, Percy, I had _no _idea you were even thinking about having kids!" Not only did Percy turn about ten shades redder, but I feel myself blush too.

"No I didn't – I mean I was just curious – I just-"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

"I can do that," he replies, glad that I dropped the subject.

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**A/N : Short, I know. But not to worry, I'm already working on the next chapter! Yippee! Reviews are still appreciated ! Oh and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!**


	14. Utterly & Entirely Humiliated

**A/N : Wow, I'm super fast with updates today! Haha, anyways this idea was given to me by _claudia09_. She reviewed Chapter 12 and said she liked but she wished that I would've put in a part about Sally telling embarassing stories about Percy!**

**I decided she was right! So this one's for you _claudia09_!**

**Hope you like it!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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14. Utterly & Entirely Humiliated

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Percy hated the snow. He despised the snow. He wished it would just _go away_!

Because as soon as the snow went away, then the roads would be cleared, then it wouldn't be dangerous to take a cab, then Annabeth could go back to Crystal's place, then she wouldn't be stuck here, then Mrs. Jackson wouldn't be able to tell her embarrassing baby stories about him, and then he wouldn't be utterly and entirely humiliated.

But the snow didn't go away, much to Percy's disappointment, so the humiliation carried on.

Annabeth was seated at the kitchen counter and Mrs. Jackson was talking to her as she prepared dinner. Percy was sitting on the couch with the TV blaring, in hopes that it would calm him down and restrain him from duct-taping his mother's mouth closed.

Sally and Annabeth were laughing and talking like two long-lost sisters finally reunited. Percy actually liked it that his mother and his girlfriend got along, but not when it was because they were exchanging embarrassing Percy moments!

"And then –and then he starts singing 'Baby Got Back' on the top of his lungs and shaking his butt, right in the middle of Wal-Mart!" Mrs. Jackson cried, causing another eruption of laughter between the two.

"Oh my God, and one time I remember we went to Central Park. Percy was about three. He was playing on the playground and I sitting on one of the benches," She started again. "Then all of a sudden Percy comes running over to me-"

Percy suddenly froze. No! He knew this story! NO! NO! NO!

"-Carrying his pants in one hand and his underwear in the other!" Annabeth blushed, but threw her head back and started laughing loudly. His mom joined in too.

"But, sweetie, the best part was that as he was running to me, he tripped and fell in a puddle of mud! He got mud all over his little butt and-"

"OKAY!" shouts Percy jumping of the couch. He runs over to the kitchen. Annabeth tries to stop laughing, fails, and so settles for giggling behind her hand. He glares at her.

"I'm sure Annabeth is getting tired of listening to all these stories," Percy says desperate to get her away from his dangerously talkative mom. Sally slightly frowns, and for a minute, Percy feels bad, but he knows that if he has to listen to another story about him as a baby doing stupid stuff he'll have to dig up a hole, crawl up in it, and die.

"Actually, I would love to hear more stories!" Annabeth insists, flashing Sally smile. Percy glares at her.

"Um, but I'm sure you're tired of, you know, talking, so I should-" but before she could finish Percy grabs her hand and yanks from out of the kitchen and into his room.

"Hey!" She cries. Percy sticks his tongue out at her.

"Oh that's very mature, Percy," Annabeth states, placing her hands on her hips. "But if you want to talk about mature – taking your pants and underwear off in the middle of Central Park?" Annabeth starts cracking up.

"Ugh, please don't," begs Percy.

"And-and how you wet yourself in the middle of the movie theater and then yelled 'Iwent potty in my pants'!" She started cracking up again, hugging her stomach.

Percy cringed again. "Thanks, Annabeth. I'm so glad you are getting a laugh out of my embarrassment."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, please," she said. "Everyone has embarrassing baby moments."

Percy raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Oh, no, actually they don't – I don't," She said nervously.

"But you just said everyone does! Which means that you do too."

"Um, I was lying!" She lied. "Duh!"

Percy shot her a skeptical look, "Okay, Wise Girl."

"Well," she started hesitantly. "I guess I might have one or two embarrassing stories."

"Really? Care to sure?"

"Uh, no."

"That's not fair!"

"Boo-hoo, cry me a river! Life's not fair."

"Come on! I won't laugh! Promise."

"Yeah, right."

"Seriously, please! I've already been embarrassed enough! I think it's your turn," Percy pleaded. Now that Annabeth had let it slip that she had a few humiliating stories herself, there was no way Percy was giving up until she spilled the beans.

"No way, Seaweed Brain."

Percy slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. "Please?" he asked quietly. Annabeth could feel his warm breath across her face. His green eyes were so electrifying staring straight into hers. His hand was sending like a blaze against her. Whoa, snap out of it!

"No," she said, equally as quiet.

He leaned his head towards her until their foreheads were touching. A fire licked against them as their skin touched. Then quickly he kissed the tip of her nose. She shivered slightly, but it wasn't because of the cold.

"Please?" he whispered, his words practically on her lips. Annabeth gave a slight nod. Percy slowly pulled away, but left his arms around her waist. He gave her a lopsided smile.

She shook her head at him. "Cheater," she accused.

Percy raised his eyebrows. He was about to say something when Annabeth cu him off.

"Okay, well, once when I was like two, my dad took me to the beach. I was super excited because it was the first time I was going," She looked up at Percy and he nodded her on.

"So we laid down our towels and stuff and my dad sat on our towels reading a newspaper or something. I went off playing in the ocean. Later, I came running back to my dad completely naked and…" Percy blushed and bit down on his lip to stop his laugh from escaping. Annabeth shot him a look.

"…and when my dad asked me where my swimsuit was I just shrugged. He went berserk running around the beach trying to look for it. After my dad couldn't find it, he went back to our towels and a guy came up to us holding my bathing suit and said 'I think this belongs to your daughter'," Annabeth finished, looking at Percy expectantly. Percy bit down harder on his lip, but he couldn't help. He burst out laughing.

Annabeth pushed him. "Wow, thanks Percy."

Percy shook his head trying to stop laughing, but he couldn't. He fell back on his bed, his laughter ringing in Annabeth's ears. She blushed and scowled, "Ugh, you're so annoying!"

When Percy answered by laughing even harder, she decided that she hated the snow.

She wished the snow would just _go away_. Because when the snow went away, the streets wouldn't be slippery and icy, then she could get a cab, then she could go back to Crystal's apartment, then she could not be her, then she wouldn't be able to hear Percy's annoying never-ending laugh, then she wouldn't be turning bright red, then she wouldn't be scowling, and then she wouldn't be utterly and entirely humiliated.

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**A/N : How was that? I know, the baby stories weren't the most embarrassing thing you've ever heard, but I was drawing a total blank when I tried to think of a good embarrassing story! If you can think of a better one, PM me or include it with your review and I'll change my story. Also, just to let you know, this will be the last update for today (don't cry!) because it is the 4th of July after all!**

**Thanks again to claudia09 for the amazing idea!**

**Reviews make me happy ;)**


	15. Surprise, Surprise

**A/N : Hey everyone!**

**Oh my God, I love you guys so much! Thanks so much for the many, MANY reviews. They never fail to make me smile!**

**Special thanks to: _l__eprechaunsarekronos'sservants_ and _Future Mrs. Seaweed Brain! _****You two have consistently been reviewing my story since chapter one!**

**I love reading your thoughts and comments, so keep'em coming!**

**Okay, that's all for now! ENJOY!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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15. Surprise, Surprise

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Walking quickly through Central Park, Annabeth cursed under her breath again as yet another rude jogger cut her off. Seriously that had been, like, the fifth time already! They weren't lying when they said New Yorkers were rude people.

She stopped briefly, reaching into her tote slung over her shoulder, and checked the time on her cell phone. She took a sip of her Starbucks hot chocolate and then immediately regretted it because it burned her tongue. Annabeth then switched the big black and white shopping bag from her left hand to her right hand and tightened her cashmere scarf around her neck.

She needed to get back to Crystal's apartment before anyone could see her. If anyone caught her- no, she wouldn't worry about that, because it wasn't going to happen.

Annabeth started walking briskly again. She was in a hurry to get back home, partly because she just wanted to curl up in front of a nice warm fireplace and allow her frozen fingers to heat up.

The winter had turned out to be a long one this year. It had dragged out into the first week of April and just when everyone thought it was finally over, it had snowed.

Suddenly a snowball came flying in Annabeth's direction. It hit her hard in her right shoulder causing her to drop the shopping bag and cup of hot chocolate she was holding. She heard an obnoxious laugh and felt the anger boiling inside her.

"Hey, Ann-

"Really, Percy?!" She shrieked at him. "Ugh! Why are you so annoying?" She bent over trying to pick up the cup of hot chocolate without letting too much of it spill onto the ground, but it was pointless, most of the warm mixture had already leaked on the pavement.

Percy reached over and picked up the shopping bag Annabeth had also dropped. She grabbed it quickly from his hands.

"Look, I'm sorry about that, I just thought it might be kind of funny." She shot him a look. "Not that it was! It was actually a very immature thing to do. I mean, come on! Grow up! Hitting you with a snowball? Wow."

This time she giggled. Percy smiled, mission accomplished.

"S'okay," Annabeth replied. She was suddenly aware of the very big shopping bag she was holding and tried to hide it behind her back. Please don't let him ask. Please don't let him ask. Please don't let him ask. Please don't-

"So what's in the bag?" Crap.

"Uh, nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"Really, it's nothing. Ju-Just something Crystal wanted to me to buy."

"Huh, so I can see it?"

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"Because I-No! Stop!"

Percy had snatched the bag from her hands and was now peering inside. He took out a short strapless white dress from the bag and held it in front of Annabeth.

"Pretty," he said like a five-year-old describing a unicorn. "But something tells me this isn't for Crystal."

Annabeth looked up to glare at him. "Fine. It's for me. Happy?"

She grabbed the dress and stuffed it back in the bag, hoping that no one else would be witness to Annabeth Chase carrying a purchased strapless dress from Saks.

"Not quite," Percy replied, sticking his hands in his pockets. "What's it for?"

Annabeth stopped. Why did he have to ask that?

"Crystal'smakingmegotothestupidspringdancethatourschoolishaving."

"What?"

Annabeth sighed, "Crystal is making me go to the stupid Spring Dance that our school is having.

"She's making you?" Percy scrunched his eyebrows in disbelief. No one ever made Annabeth do anything she was too annoyingly stubborn.

"Yeah, apparently it's like prom but for sophomores, and I kind of owe Crystal."

"Oh. So are you –is anyone going with-" Percy blushed; this was harder to say than he had realized. "Do you have a date or something to the dance?"

Annabeth smirked. "Um, no, since last time I checked, I was kind of going out with you."

"Oh, yeah."

"Wow, Percy," she shook her head at him. "Anyway I should get going."

"Okay. Well, bye."

She took a step closer to him, reached up on her toes, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He blushed. Annabeth smiled. "Bye, Seaweed Brain."

* * * *

"Wow, you don't look stupid," snickered Nico walking into his cousin's room.

"Geez, thanks for the reassurance," Percy replied, rolling his eyes. He tugged at his collar and cringed. He was going to have to wear this all night and he better get used to it.

"Anytime. Wait, why are you wearing that thing anyway?"

'That thing' Nico was referring to was Percy's black suit. He was wearing a white collared shirt underneath it and a black tie too. He had attempted to comb his hair when he got out of the shower, but as soon as his dark hair dried it went to looking as messy as it always was.

"Because I'm surprising Annabeth," He told Nico. "She's going to her school dance and I decided to surprise her and be her date."

Nico fake-gagged. "You know, that's really cheesy. Look at what Annabeth's done to you!"

Percy just smiled. He knew the look on Annabeth's face when he showed up in front of Crystal's apartment would make up for the uncomfortable suit and digs made by Nico. He grabbed the corsage his mom had bought for Annabeth and tucked it into his pocket.

"I bet this dance is going to be ridiculous. I'm talking about, like, colorful steamers-bad DJ-horrible music-terrible dancing ridiculous."

Percy laughed, "Well, I guess, but – wait dancing?"

Nico looked at him funny. "Uh, yeah, you dance at dances. Who would've guessed it?"

Percy froze. He forgot he had to actually dance. Great, he couldn't dance! He'd probably just ruin everything for Annabeth by embarrassing himself and her! Maybe it wasn't to late to back out of this. Yes! He could quickly change back into a t-shirt and sweatpants and tell his mom that the dance was canceled on account of the bad weather!

"Maybe I wont go after all," he thought aloud. "What?! Why not?" Nico cried. Percy shot him a confused look. "You have to go. I mean, you're already dressed in that freaking suit… and I kind of wanted to come along and, you know, make fun of the whole school dance thing," he confessed. Percy laughed, "You? You wanted to come to the dance?"

"Whatever. Come on, Romeo. Juliet's waiting," Nico said as he grabbed Percy by the arm and pulled him out of his room before he had time to protest.

* * * *

"Oh my Gods! That is so sweet! Wait here, I'll get Annabeth," Crystal cried. Percy was standing right outside her apartment and had just got done telling Crystal why he was here.

"Annabeth!" Crystal yelled. "Come on!"

"Ugh! I'm coming! I swear, I'm going to personally find the person who invented heels and kill them. These are already giving me blisters and-" Annabeth stopped mid-sentence. She was staring straight at her boyfriend, who looked incredibly cute, even as he blushed.

"Hey," he said taking a step closer to her. It was as though there was a magnetic force pulling them together.

She looked amazing. Her hair came down in its natural ringlets framing her face. Her white dress flowed and swayed at the slightest movement. It hugged her curves – curves Percy didn't know she hid under the t-shirts she always wore. His hands all of a sudden had a burning desire to reach over and brush her cheek to see if she felt as soft as she looked.

"Hey," she said back, a beautiful, bright smile rippling across her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to be you escort to the dance," he replied holding his arm out. She laughed at the gesture and eagerly slipped her arm around his. Crystal stood there like an idiot watching her sister and her boyfriend happily as though they were in a lovey-dovey chick flick.

"Crystal, aren't you coming?" Annabeth asked, turning her head to look at Crystal.

"Oh, um, yeah."

The three of them climbed into the cab and, in there, yet another surprise sat waiting.

Annabeth slid in first, then Percy, then followed by Crystal. Annabeth felt her knee bump against something and she turned, finding herself face to face with Hades' son.

Nico smirked, nodding at Annabeth. "Surprise!"

* * *

**A/N : I know, I know! Not the BEST ending, but yeah...Anyways I wrote this in a hurry, so please excuse any bad spelling, silly grammar mistakes, etc.**

**Should I write about the actual dance? Would you want to read about it?**

**Thanks again people. :)**


	16. Shall We Dance?

**A/N : I'm ba-ack! This update took longer than I hoped because every time I sat down to write the dance, I got writer's block!**

**It was so frustrating! These past two days were especially annoying. I'd just sit in front of my laptop staring at the screen, not being able to write anything at all!**

**But first off, thank you guys sooo much! I got so much feedback from everyone saying to write about the dance!**

**I even got a few people wondering if Crystal and Nico were going to share a dance....hmmm.**

**You'll see! ;)**

* * *

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

* * *

16. Shall We Dance?

* * *

The car finally arrived in front of the big stone steps of NY Prep, the elite private school Crystal and Annabeth were enrolled at. The school building seemed enormous, but the school's student population was actually pretty small. Which meant that everyone knew everyone and everyone's business.

So when Annabeth walked into the decorated gym hand-in-hand with a mysterious dark haired boy, you can imagine what happened. Every single head turned to stare them down and girls automatically started whispering among each other.

"Is that-"

"Do you think that's her-"

"No way."

"Wow, go Annabeth."

Percy blushed like mad. Annabeth snuck a glance at him and smirked. She, unlike him, was used to the whispers, the stares, she'd never been so great at making friends with mortals. Especially mortal girls who's biggest worries were finding boyfriends, getting the latest clothes, and fixing their nails every week.

"Dude, what's up with everyone? You'd think they've never seen two guys before," Nico muttered under his breath to Percy. He was getting as much stares as Percy, since he was dressed in a black skull t-shirt and black baggy jeans.

The four of them stood off to the side of the gym for a few minutes awkwardly. Thankfully, the attention seemed to move from them to two girls bickering about a guy or something like that.

"So…" Crystal started. She shot Annabeth a look that said _Why-are-you-not-dancing-with-your-boyfriend-right-now?_ Annabeth nodded over to Percy. Apparently there must've been something interesting on his shoes, because that's where his gaze seemed to be fixed.

Crystal rolled her eyes. _Say something!_ She mouthed. _Give him a hint!_ Annabeth shrugged.

"Oh my Gods, I love this song!" Annabeth said to Percy, trying to get him to ask her to dance. Percy looked up and cocked his head towards the music.

"Miley Cyrus? Oh, yeah she's great," he teased, crossing his arms. Crystal smacked her hand to her forehead. Annabeth laughed nervously, "Haha, yep. Gotta love _The Climb,_ right?" No.

"Totally," Percy replied, looking back down at his shoes. Gods, why was he such an idiot? Couldn't he tell she was trying to hint at something?

She shot Crystal another desperate look. Crystal just nodded her head towards Percy. Sighing, Annabeth decided to try another approach.

"Look at everyone dancing! Doesn't it look like fun?"

Percy shot her a look, "Yeah, tons of fun."

Ugh! She was about to give him another hint when she stopped herself. What was she doing here?

"Well, it's your lucky day, because I feel like dancing," she replied grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the cluster of teens dancing to the teacher-approved music.

Percy's eyes were wide open, "Uh, that's a bad idea. I think we-"

"Come on, Seaweed Brain. It's just dancing. It's not going to kill you," she teased as she pulled him further along. Percy shot Nico a desperate look.

_You're outta luck!_ He mouthed to Percy, cracking up.

Nico was so dead. Percy was just thinking about the many ways he would make Nico pay when Annabeth yelped, "Ow! That was my_ foot, _Percy, not the _ground_!"

He grimaced apologetically at her. "I told you this was a bad idea," he replied. They were now in the middle of a crowd of teens bobbing up and down to the music. She giggled at his nervous expression. "It's not that hard," she said as she took his hands and set them on her hips. She laid her hands on his chest and together they started moving to the beat.

"See?" Annabeth replied, looking up at him. He suddenly got lost in her gray stormy eyes and suddenly stepped on her foot again.

She bit her lip while he groaned. "Yeah, this is going great!" he replied sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. Determined, she didn't allow him to let go of her. So they remained on the dance floor, much to Percy's disappointment, attempting to dance.

Crystal was still standing next to Nico. Truth be told, she was actually looking around for a guy she'd had a crush on, Kyle, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Looking for someone?" Nico asked, catching her glancing around the gym.

Crystal blushed, "No, of course not." Her gaze fell to the big glowing skull on Nico's t-shirt.

"What?" Nico asked her as he poured himself a cup of punch. He took a big gulp of the juice then abruptly spit it back into the plastic cup. He wiped his mouth his the back of his hand. "This punch is disgusting," he though aloud, tossing his cup away.

Crystal rolled her eyes at him. "I cannot believe you wore a skulled t-shirt to a dance," she snickered.

Nico looked down at his shirt and shrugged. "I think I look better than all those other dorks in suits," he smirked. Crystal giggled, and Nico raised his eyebrows.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked her suddenly. Crystal looked around confused, "With you?" She bit down on her lip; that came out wrong.

Nico turned red, "Well, if you don't want to, no one's –"

"No! No, that's not what I meant! I'd, um, love to dance," she stuttered out.

Nico flashed her a crooked smile, "Okay."

He led her to the dance floor and they started swaying to the beat of the music.

Annabeth, seeing Crystal and Nico dancing, suddenly cried, "Percy!"

"What?! I swear, I didn't step on your foot this time!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No! Look at who's decided to dance," she said nodding towards the odd couple.

"_Nico?_ And _Crystal_?"

"Yep. Who would've thought?"

Nico was as red as a tomato. Not only was he slightly shorter than Crystal, but she made him incredibly nervous too. For some reason, just dancing with her made all the difference. He had completely lost his ability to speak.

After a few more minutes of torture, he managed to blurt out, "Well, this is…"

"Awkward?" she asked. Her hands were suddenly becoming really sweaty and it was grossing _herself_ out.

Nico took a deep breath, "Yeah." He took a step away from her, and she did the same.

"I mean, you're cool and all, just," Crystal started to say. She suddenly saw _him_. _Kyle!_ Soccer player, Student Council member, debate team leader, National Honors Society participant, and an active volunteer at Primrose, the preschool right across the street, Kyle was perfect. "Just not my type?" she finished unsurely. Crystal eyed Nico hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings. But he seemed to be grinning smugly at her.

"What?" she asked him puzzled.

"You like him, don't you?" he nodded towards Kyle.

"What?! No, I don't," she scowled at him, but her burning cheeks gave her away. Nico crossed his arms and his grin grew wider.

"Really? Okay, then you wouldn't care if that blonde chick over there is hitting on him right?"

"_Who's_ hitting on him?" Crystal frantically looked around the gym, her hands ready to rip out any girl's hair who tried to make a move on Kyle. She suddenly heard Nico's laughter and contained herself.

"Haha, good one," she remarked. He looked at her amused.

"Look, I don't care. Honestly," he told her flatly.

"Thanks," she replied. Suddenly Kyle caught her eye and flashed her a smile that could've turned her into nothing more than a puddle. Holy Zeus!

And-and now he was making his way towards her!

"Hey, Crystal," he said once he'd reached her.

"Um, hey," she said back, flashing her best smile.

"So, um, how are you?" he asked, running his hand through his hair. Wait, was he nervous too?

"Good," she recited, nodding her head. _Just ask me to dance!_ She wanted to screech at him.

"So have you-"

"Dude, just ask her to dance with you!" Nico blurted out. Crystal shot him a Shut-up-you-idiot-you-are-going-to-ruin-everything look. Nico ignored it. Kyle turned around to face Nico.

"Do I know you?"

"Uh, no, but see, I know your friend Crystal over here. And even I can tell that just wants to dance with you. So would you mind cutting the smooth-talking and just ask her already!" he cried.

Kyle turned to look at Crystal; she blushed brightly.

"Do you – do you want to dance?" he asked her, smirking slightly.

She giggled, "Love too."

He took her hand and started to lead her towards the dance floor. Crystal looked back and gave a Nico a huge smile. _Thank you!_ She mouthed to him.

He grinned smugly. He let his eyes wander across the gym and he suddenly spotted Annabeth and Percy. Their arms were around each other and they seemed to be stumbling around instead of dancing like everyone else. But they also seemed to be having more fun that anyone else. Every time Percy stepped on Annabeth's foot or kicked her in the shins, he offered her a lopsided smile and she just giggled and kept swaying to the music. He had to admit, Percy got points for being such a bad dancer and still managing to keep Annabeth holding tightly to him.

Nico leaned back against the table laid out with snacks and drinks. Last time he could remember going to a dance was at Westover Hall…

Lots of things had changed since then. He was no longer the stupid little kid he once was. He no longer always followed his sister around as though without her he'd be lost. He was no longer totally clueless about his past, his parents. He-

Whoa, who was _that_?

His eyes glued to a girl standing a few feet away from him helping herself to a cup of punch. Her jet-black hair ran down her back and glowed under the tacky gym lights. Her tan skin was set off by her bright red halter dress. He watched, captivated in her presence, as she brought the cup of punch to her lips, took a sip, then scrunched up her nose in disgust an dumped the rest of the juice into a nearby trash can.

"Well, hello," he murmured under his breath as he slowly approached the enchanting girl.

Hmmmm, maybe this dance wasn't such a lame thing after all.

* * *

**A/N : Ta-da! How'd you like it? The ending is my favorite part... I know there's not a lot of percabeth in this chapter, but I thought a little change is good.**

**Sorry if Nico's a bit OOC, but I'm just getting used to writing his character !**

**A quick side note:**** During my painful writer's block, I did all of a sudden have inspiration to write a bittersweet oneshot!**

**It's called ****_One Chance, One Moment, One Summer. _It is posted on fiction press******** and I'm especially proud of it, so it'd be sooooo awesome if you checked it out! ****Links for it are on my profile! **

******MOVING ON! As always, reviews are appreciated! So hurry up, press that little button, and tell me what you think!**

**Thanks a billion! :)**


	17. The Sea, Tomatoes, and Aunt Petunia

**A/N : Hello, hello! Yes, I know this update took rather long...**

**I had this idea in my head for a while, but it was a lot harder actually writing it out. Anyway, it's 6 in the morning. Yes, I know I'm crazy, not to mention pathetic, but I wanted to post this up for you guys! Not only because I love you all (indulges everyone in a huge bear hug), but also I just love getting reviews!**

**Selfish, aren't I? :)**

**Okay, that's enough of my ranting!**

**Happy Reading!**

**

* * *

**

**T****he Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

* * *

17. The Sea, Tomatoes, and Aunt Petunia

* * *

The ocean was at its best today. Its surface glistened under the sun and sparkled like a billion diamonds sewn together. The waves were calm, unraveling and unfolding against the sand slowly. It was a breathtaking blue-green color and the water was so clear that you could see all the sea creatures swimming under the sea. It was all too much to resist, so Annabeth had changed into her bathing suit and sneaked off before any one of her half-siblings caught her.

There was a small dock stretched a little over the ocean. The campers used it as a diving board during swim races or diving contests. Annabeth walked to its edge and quickly slid off her shorts and tank top revealing an aquamarine two-piece. She sighed as a light breeze tickled her face and brought a salty scent in the air.

Annabeth had no idea that she, in fact, had a stalker (hello, Percy!). He had seen her slip out of her cabin unnoticed, and so intrigued by where she was going that he raced out of his cabin and followed her to the beach. And now he watched her as the breeze tossed her "princess curls" as he had once called them. He began making his way towards her, hoping to surprise her or, better yet, scare her.

But just as he was a few steps away from her, she said softly, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Percy came to stand beside her, smirking slightly. "Are you talking to me…or are you talking to yourself?"

She pushed his shoulder playfully. "You."

"Oh, well, so much for scaring you," he said running a hand through his hair.

"I could see your shadow the minute you stepped onto the dock, you idiot," she told him.

He stuck his tongue out at her, and the gesture seemed so childish that Annabeth couldn't help but laugh.

"Were you going to go swimming?" he asked her.

She rolled her eyes. "No, I just decided to wear this swimsuit for no apparent reason."

He blushed, why did he always seem to ask stupid questions? His eyes passed over her swimsuit and, not for the first time, Percy realized how good she looked. Annabeth felt her cheeks redden as she caught him staring at her.

He pulled off his t-shirt and snickered, "Then let's go for a swim."

She smiled and casually stepped behind him. "You first!" she yelled as she pushed him roughly in the back. But just as he was about to fall into the ocean, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her in with him.

They both went under the water and Annabeth came bursting out of the surface first. She swam to the shallow part of the sea where she could safely plant her feet to the sandy bottom. She pushed her wet hair away from her face and looked around for her soon-to-be-dead boyfriend.

"Percy!" she called. Something underneath her was swishing around underwater. She waited for a few more minutes, until Percy finally came up. He gave her a lopsided smile, the kind of smile that would usually send a blush blossoming across Annabeth's face, but not this time, she was too annoyed at him.

She looked pretty intimidating; he'd admit that much. Her eyes were narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest; her face was set in a scowl. Percy sighed and put his arms around her waist pulling her to his chest. She rolled her eyes; he was not getting away that easy. She tried to push him away, but his hold was too strong.

"Percy," she said softly and for a beautiful second he though he was off the hook. "Get off!" she yelled in his ear.

He let go of her obediently, but before she turned around to stomp away, Percy planted a kiss on her lips.

She was supposed to be mad at him, but his lips just felt _way_ too soft to pull away from. Annabeth found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer instead.

They broke apart, their breathing heavy. Percy offered her a smile, but she smacked the back of his head.

"I swear, as soon as we get back to camp, I'm going to kick your butt for pulling me into the water with you!" she threatened him. Annabeth decided to ignore the fact that he was all invincible and stuff; she was going to make him pay one way or another.

Percy stood there, digesting this for a second. "So as long as we're here…" he thought aloud. He took a step closer to her, smirking. Before she had time to react, he kissed her again.

Annabeth felt an electrical shock run through her again and decided, although she would never tell him, that maybe his idea wasn't so bad. She ran one of her hands through his dark wet hair, and one of his hands cupped her cheek while the either curled around the small of her back. They stayed contently in that position, lips glued to each other, for a while.

They were so busy that they hadn't noticed the group of campers all piled onto the deck. Leading the group were, of course, none other than Travis and Connor Stoll. Apparently they had a little plan for the lovebirds. Each camper on the deck was equipped with two bright red tomatoes, and they all shared a sly smirk.

"Okay, remember, we're aiming for Percy and Annabeth. And we actually had to _buy _these tomatoes, so you better not miss," Travis explained. The half-bloods nodded. They held their tomatoes up and waited for the signal.

"Ready? Aim, FIRE!" the two brothers yelled simultaneously. Then a wave of ripe tomatoes went flying towards Annabeth and Percy. One tomato managed to hit Annabeth in the arm, exploding with a red juice as it smacked her skin. She pulled away from Percy to figure out what in the heck had hit her in the arm. Confused, she looked around. Travis spotted her looking in his direction, and he waved at her. Annabeth glared at him and he just laughed and hurled another tomato at them. Percy and Annabeth both ducked and the red vegetable just hit the water aimlessly.

"This is ridiculous!" Annabeth cried as more and more were thrown their way.

Percy grabbed her hand, and they ran out of the ocean and into the forest.

"Follow them!" yelled Connor and led the group of eager campers towards the trees.

Annabeth and Percy were lost in the woods now, laughing hardly. "Come…on," Percy managed to say in between laughs. They bent down behind a cluster of large bushes. Percy lay down on his back and Annabeth sat down beside him.

They both stayed there silently, listening for the annoying campers. When they didn't hear anything, Annabeth settled down beside Percy, resting her head against his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her and felt his cheeks burn as he touched her skin. They were still in their swimsuits and slightly wet.

Percy suddenly felt Annabeth's lips press to his the side of his neck gently and agonizingly slowly. He chuckled softly, "What happened to kicking my butt?"

She smiled at him. "Well, technically we're still not at camp, so-" But she never got to finish what she had wanted to say, because he had her pinned down.

They wrestled around for a minute, a tangle of legs, arms, and young love. She laughed as he pulled a leaf out of her hair. And he smiled just at the sound of her laugh.

He kissed her quickly on the cheeks and suddenly dipped his head to her collarbone. Before Annabeth could realize what he was doing, he came back up, licking his lips.

She shot him a confused look. He just laughed and told her, "You had some tomato juice on your collarbone." She giggled, pulling his head closer to hers so that now she could count every one of his eyelashes.

But, once again, they were interrupted. An arrow came soaring dangerously low and suddenly got caught in the bush right above Annabeth's head. Will from the Apollo cabin came sprinting over to retrieve the arrow, but as soon as he saw a shirtless Percy on top of Annabeth, he backed away flushing brightly.

Percy saw him and sat up quickly his own face a hue of tomato now. "We were just…um, we…" he started to say. Annabeth grabbed the arrow from out of the bush and shot it back at Will. He caught it perfectly.

"Sorry bout that," he said, smirking slightly. "Don't worry I wont tell anyone," and with that he sprinted off.

Percy shook his head, laughing at their bad luck, while Annabeth silently cursed in Greek. _Would they ever be alone?_

"Come on, let's go deeper into the woods," Percy said getting up and taking Annabeth's hand in his.

They walked through the forest, and the farther they went, the quieter it seemed. They finally stopped, setting down behind a cherry blossom tree. Percy sat up against the bark of the tree and pulled Annabeth back with him, so that her back was resting against his bare chest. They stayed there, losing track of time, forgetting about everyone else, and just happy to be sharing a moment of peace and bliss with each other.

* * * *

"Where the _heck_ are they?" mumbled Travis. He, his brother, and their group of campers had followed Percy and Annabeth into the woods, but had lost them in between all the trees. They had searched the woods for them, but had not been able to find them anywhere. And it was really pissing Travis off. After all, they couldn't let a whole box of ripe juicy tomatoes go to waste, now could they?

The group decided that maybe Percy and Annabeth had gone back to camp. They went back to camp grounds and joined the rest of their fellow half-bloods by a fountain in the center of camp. Here, everyone had gathered to spend their free time in between classes.

Crystal spotted Connor, still holding a tomato in one hand, and cautiously walked towards him.

He sighed, "Don't worry I'm not going to hit you." Crystal raised her eyebrows. "The tomato's for Percy and Annabeth."

She burst of laughing. "Why?!"

"I was going to throw it at them."

"Ah, I see."

"And where are those two stupid love birds now?" Clarisse asked, jumping in on their conversation. Travis went to sit next to his identical-looking brother.

"We don't know," he explained. "We chased them out of the ocean and into the forest, but lost track of where they were going."

"What I don't get, is how they got lost! I mean, Annabeth? Getting lost? That's unheard of!" Connor thought aloud.

Crystal and Clarisse exchanged glances. Will flushed.

"Um, maybe they just, you know, wanted to be alone," he started.

"What? Why?" Connor asked, looking at him in disbelief.

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Wow, you really as stupid as you look," she giggled.

"Hey now!" He said getting up, curling his hands into fists. Malcolm from the Athena cabin got up and stood behind Crystal staring him down. Connor snickered and sat back down.

She shot Malcolm a thankful look and turned back to Connor. "You know, maybe they 'got lost', so that they could be away from everyone else," she said slowly, as though she were explaining this to a two-year-old.

Travis looked just as confused as his brother. "But _why_ would they do that?"

Helen from the Aphrodite cabin got up from the side of the fountain, flipping her hair back as she walked over to them. The conversations slowly stopped as everyone watched her explain to the confused brothers exactly why Percy and Annabeth had suddenly disappeared.

"Okay, let's see, first of Percy and Annabeth are, despite being a half-blood and all, two teenagers in love with raging hormones," she explained just as slowly as Crystal had, taping her finger to her chin as though she was thinking hardly about this. Travis and Connor both blushed brightly.

"And they are stuck all summer long at camp with a bunch of brats," here she narrowed her eyes at them accusingly, "who won't leave them alone! They need some time, just the two of them, to, you know, do typical boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."

The Stoll brothers sat there taking all this in for a minute.

"I'm sorry I hadn't realized typical girlfriend-boyfriend was disspearing into the woods for about five hours while all your friends wondered where the heck you were," Connor pointed out.

A collective moan came from everyone and Helen sighed. This was a lost cause.

Just that very moment, Annabeth and Percy came strolling towards the group hand-in-hand laughing together as though they had the world at their fingertips. The sight made Clarisse want to hurl.

They abruptly stopped, realizing everyone's gaze on them. They had gone back to the shore to retrieve their clothing, so that they'd be dressed in something more than their swimsuits when they came back to camp. Percy had attempted to pull out every stray leaf and twig that had gotten caught in Annabeth's hair as they were, er, rolling around (cough, making out, cough) on the forest floor. So what was everyone staring out?

"Um, hello," Annabeth said to everyone hesitantly.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" yelled Connor accusingly at them.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, dropping Percy's hand to place her hands on her hips.

"Away from you!" she shot back. "Do you have any idea just _how _annoying you are?"

He smirked at her. "Thanks, I do try," he replied causing a another eye roll from Annabeth.

"But really, what were you two doing in the forest for five whole hours?" he cried.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances.

"We were just…" Annabeth stalled, for once, even_ she _was speechless.

"We were just, you know, studying nature," Percy explained.

Annabeth jumped right in, "Yeah, brushing up on our botany skills!" Percy nodded quickly. And the two of them disappeared to their own cabins before anyone had time to press the matter any more. Everyone else started to leave too, going back to their cabins or their archery or sword-fighting classes.

Connor lingered at the fountain, staying behind as his friends all quickly left.

He stood, looking back at the woods, mumbling only to himself, "Botany skills? My Aunt Petunia!"

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**A/N : I hoped you liked this one! I know I had fun writing it...**

**Well, I have to go, get _any _sleep if I can! :S**

**Reviews make me happy! But I'm sure you won't disappoint me, you guys never do ! :D**

**Thanks!**


	18. Blue Icing

**A/N : Hola, amigos! Here's another chapter!**

**Sorry if it's a bit too fluffy for your taste...but, come on, who _doesn't_ love fluff?**

**Anyway, you gotta thank_ bombplaya3_ for this chappie! After his super nice message to me, I was struck with inspiration! So claps for him!**

**By the way, not only is he the reason this chapter is up, but he also has a very cool and awesome name!**

**Enough rambling! On with the story! **

**Enjoy:)**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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18. Blue Icing

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Percy reached his apartment and was about to open the front door when he heard a clatter of pots and pan coming from inside.

That's weird. His mother and Paul had left a few days ago for a small getaway. They couldn't be back yet.

Without thinking, his hand went to his pocket where his pen was safely kept. Hesitantly, he opened the door.

There was a trail of flour starting from the kitchen leading into the living room. Percy, startled, dropped his messenger bag besides the couch. What kind of monster left a trail of flour behind?

"Ugh!" a voice suddenly cried from kitchen._ "ηλίθιος! Μισώ αυτό το φούρνο!"_

Percy smiled, there was only one person he knew who cursed in Ancient Greek.

"Annabeth?" he called. He got no response, but another loud clatter of pots.

"What are you doing?" he asked nervously, strolling into the kitchen.

"NO!" Suddenly he was tackled and thrown to the floor. His sight was blinded by a bush of blonde hair.

"What the heck?" he said as Annabeth slowly got up – apparently she had landed _on top_ of him – and shrugged, cracking a small smile.

"Sorry," she said laughing nervously. "But you're not supposed to be here yet! Why_ are_ you here?" She offered her hand, which Percy took _before _realizing that it was covered in flour too.

"What is going on in-" he started to ask, but Annabeth hastily pushed him out of the kitchen and into the living room before he could see whatever she was doing.

"Nope. You have to answer my question first," she replied smugly, laying her hands against his broad chest and pushing him down on the sofa.

He stared at her for a second. Half of her hair was tied in a sloppy ponytail and half of it had come undone and was hanging down. Her face was spotted with flour, and something yellow – egg yolk? - had dried on the front of her apron. He pressed his lips together in an effort to not burst out laughing at the sight of her. That would just get her mad, and _that_ would just get him into trouble.

"The movie tickets were all sold out for the movie Nico, Grover, and I were going to see, so we strolled around the streets a bit, but got bored, so we left and here I am," he explained.

It was Percy's seventeenth birthday today; a date he did not publicize. Camp always ended a few days earlier, so no one from camp could usually make it and he didn't have very many close mortal friends. His mom had fussed about missing his birthday, but Percy had finally convinced her to leave with Paul for their much-deserved vacation.

Annabeth had talked to him about throwing a party; she was certain everyone from camp would make it if they held a big party. But Percy's argument was that after everything his sixteenth birthday had brought he just wanted everything this year to be calm and relaxed. You couldn't blame him; his birthday last year wasn't exactly what you'd call peaceful.

"Oh," she replied cocking her head to the side. More of her blonde hair fell out of the sloppy ponytail. She sighed and took her hair band out and retied her hair tightly.

She leaned down and gave Percy a quick kiss on the cheek, before going back into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" he called out.

"You'll see!"

He sighed. There was no point in pushing Annabeth for more answers; she was the most stubborn person he knew. He turned the TV on and flipped to ESPN. (**A/N: haha, apparently this is the only thing guys in my stories watch! :P )**

After ten minutes (and Percy trying to sneak into the kitchen twice), the lights in the living room all of a sudden went out. Percy turned around and saw Annabeth walking towards him carrying a lopsided blue blob with seventeen candles sticking out at the top.

She reached the couch and sunk in beside him, still careful of the big blob in her hands.

"Happy Birthday," she whispered. He blushed furiously. The thought of Annabeth attempting to bake him a birthday cake sent his heart through a game of hopscotch.

"Thanks," he whispered back. His eyes were glued to hers. She looked even prettier in the light of seventeen glowing candles, despite the flour scattered on her face.

"Make a wish," she urged him. "Before my poor excuse of a cake melts!"

He blew out the candles and they were swallowed up in the darkness. He couldn't even see Annabeth's face, which had been a few inches away from his.

"Now time for presents!" she said. Normally, Percy would've blushed, but there was a certain mysterious edge to her voice that made him nervous. Before his little seaweed filled head could figure out what his girlfriend had in mind, he felt something gooey and soft slam into his face.

"Oh my Gods, Annabeth! You are so dead!" he yelled as he wiped the cake off his eyes and mouth.

She laughed out loud. "What? You didn't like my present?" she asked innocently.

"You wanna know what I think about it?" he asked, wiping off a handful cake, threatening to throw it at Annabeth.

"Wait, what? Stop! What are you going to do?!" she cried in panic. Curse the darkness! She had no idea what he was talking about! Percy could practically hear her mind flipping through all the possibilities he was talking about.

"No! Don't you dare throw that cake! With your great aim, you'll probably end up knocking over some precious family heirloom!"

That stopped him. Not that he'd ever admit it, but she was probably right.

He heard her get up from the couch. Suddenly the lights flipped on and a loud laughing filled his ears.

"Oh! I–didn't-realize-how-stupid-you-look!" Annabeth said in between laughs. Percy glared at her.

"You think this is funny?"

She settled down beside him again, still laughing, and nodded. "Hilarious."

"That makes one of us."

"Oh, come here!" she retorted. Giggling at the thought of what she was about to do, Annabeth took Percy's cake-covered face in her hands and leaned in to press her lips against his. His lips tasted like sugar and icing.

When they pulled away, Annabeth had managed to wipe off half of the cake onto her face causing Percy to laugh in turn. She rolled her eyes at him and licked her lips. "Hmmm, this cake tastes pretty good," she stated.

"Cake? Oh, you mean the big blob of blue icing?" Percy teased, leaning in towards her. Maybe he'd get lucky and get another birthday kiss.

But all he got instead was a push.

"Hey, next year, you won't even get a cake!"

"Aw, that's too bad."

"I know! But if you apologized, then maybe…"

Percy planted a kiss on her lips instead. He pulled away and instead of seeing Annabeth smiling like an idiot, she was glaring at him. _Great._

"I said if you apologized, not wiped more cake on my face!"

"Opps. Sorry?"

"Whatever," she replied rolling her eyes. She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Since you're the one who got all this cake on my face, you have to help me get it off," he laughed softly.

Annabeth flashed him a mischievous smile. She knew exactly how to get all that gooey, sugary stuff off…

Mmmm, blue icing had never tasted so good.

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**A/N : Yummy, aren't you guys now suddenly hungry for cake? I am! Haha, thanks for reading!**

** Thanks for the many reviews! You guys rock! Keep'em coming...please?**

**Oh and if you have time, check out my newest PJO fanfic: The Soundtrack of Life!**

**Again, any ideas for upcoming chapters are welcome. Thanks!**

**xoxo**

**dancechick307**


	19. Childhood Calling

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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19. Childhood Calling

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It was one of those really hot summer days. The type of day when the very heat from the sun feels like a hot, sizzling flame against your skin. The type of day when the only way to bear the heat was to jump into an ice cold pool, butt-naked. The type of day that if you left your ice cream cone out in the sun for a mere seconds it would transform into a pool of sticky goo.

Percy wiped his sweaty palms against the fabric of his shorts. He stole a glance at Annabeth and just like that, his breath was taken away. The blinding sun was bouncing off her curls and producing a shine brighter than the sun itself. Her tan skin radiated a healthy glow and there was a small, faint, yet distinct, smile blooming on her face. Her eyes were always fixed straight ahead, always focused on something, as though her mind was analyzing her surroundings and coming up with a plan every second. Her stride was powerful and forceful, but also a bit more relaxed today. Her presence seemed angelic; it was surely too precious to be standing there beside him. And in that moment, his heart swelled up, knowing that no matter how unbelievable it seemed, she would always be there next to him, his own personal sun and miracle.

Something smooth and warm suddenly slipped into his hand. Annabeth intertwined her fingers with his. A light pink shade rose from Percy's cheeks and she leaned her head towards him, a smirk playing on her lips, and said, "What're you staring at?"

He gave her one of his signature stupid, goofy smiles that never failed to make her world spin a little faster. His lips met hers, just gently brushing them and before she could even react or think or even blink, he pulled away, his grin noticeably larger than before.

It was still something he was getting used to; being able to kiss her freely like that whenever he pleased. But that was also something else he liked about their relationship, how everything at the moment was new and different and it thrilled him to think about the many moments that lay ahead in the future for them.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and nudged Percy playfully in the shoulder. They strolled along the path a bit more, not giving a thought as to where they were going and just living in the sweet bliss of the moment.

The sidewalk in Central Park they had been walking along lead to a playground. Annabeth was about to turn around to look for another path they could take when she felt Percy let go of her head and jog down to the entrance of the playground.

She let out a sigh and followed him; who knew what the heck he was thinking. When she came to stand beside him, he smiled brightly at her.

"This was the playground my mom always took me to when I was younger," he said softly, but there was no denying the mystic edge to his voice. Annabeth could practically see all the old memories and recollections flashing through his eyes.

Percy grabbed her hand and pulled her though the little iron gate and into the fenced playground. The playground was completely empty, it was too early in the day for little kids to be out and the playground was simply far too hidden inside Central Park for it to be discovered by joggers and walkers too. He lead her to the front of the slides and stopped in front of them.

"My mom would always kneel in front of the slide waiting to catch me when I came down it," he said, running his hand through his dark hair. His eyes were a million miles away and his lips were pulled into a distant smile. A bitter thought came to Annabeth's head and she tried to her best to ignore it, but it simply refused. _There was never anyone waiting on the other end to catch her. _

All of a sudden he pulled her hand again and led her to the seesaw. "And I would always play on these with other little kids at the park. I remember we would all get into a fight over who got to ride on the gold seat," Percy remembered, laughing slightly. "And sometimes the fighting got so bad that our mothers would step in try to settle a compromise. You know, like 'You can ride on it the first time and then Susie gets to the second time.'" No, she didn't know. _There had never been anyone to stand up for her. _

Percy swiftly jogged across the playground and Annabeth followed him silently. They reached the monkey bars and Percy jumped up to grip the metal bars as he had so many years ago. This time, though, his feet grazed the ground. He shook his head and chuckled, how weird to think that he'd outgrown this playground. "The monkey bars was always the biggest challenge of all. It was, like, this amazing thing if you got across them all by yourself. The first time I tried, I remember my mom standing underneath me, her arms held up high to catch in case I fell down," he explained. _No one was ever waiting lovingly to make sure she didn't hurt herself or fall to the ground. _

Percy walked around the playground absentmindedly. There was a certain happiness bouncing off of him that made Annabeth cringe. She loved to see him happy, of course, she didn't want anything more than him to just be happy. But there was something about this that brought a bitter taste to her mouth, that made her stomach squeeze and twist uncomfortably, something that made her want to close her eyes and run away from this place.

But she ignored this strange rush of emotions for him. He deserved to be happy.

Annabeth realized she had lost Percy. She walked around the playground looking for him when she found him standing towards the back by the bushes and trees looking out onto the park. She slowly approached her boyfriend.

Annabeth cocked her head slightly at him, watching him as he remembered his childhood days that had come and gone so quickly, and suddenly there was a lump in her throat. Horrified, she tried to swallow it down, but failed. Percy suddenly turned to her, as if suddenly remembering she was still there. His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and he held out his hand, "You okay?"

She nodded, swallowing again. She took his hand and squeezed it to convince him that she was fine.

But Percy being, well, Percy, knew her far too well. His gaze saw right through her well-composed façade and saw the little girl crying inside. His arms were suddenly holding her, his hands were stroking her hair soothingly, and his lips pressed gently to her forehead.

The tears in her eyes welled up and however hard she tried for them not to, they came spilling out anyway. Annabeth was so frustrated with herself; it was silly to be crying over something like this. She pulled away from Percy and looked into his questioning green eyes.

"I'm okay," she stated. He shot her an unconvinced look.

"Okay, I'm _not_ okay," she admitted, sighing in frustration. "It's stupid to be jealous, but I am. I'm incredibly jealous of you."

Percy was still confused. "What are you talking about?"

Annabeth held her arms out, "I'm jealous at how you can just look at this place and suddenly a million sweet memories come flooding back to you. I'm jealous that you have those memories to cherish. I'm jealous that you have memories like that with your own mother. I don't have that. I don't have anything _close_ to that."

Percy's look softened. His eyes shone with warmth. He took a half step closer to his girlfriend, but she abruptly turned around.

"No. I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I _especially _don't want that," her voice was strong and crisp and almost cold, but Percy could recognize the way it quivered at the end, revealing how much being able to cherish childhood memories really meant to her.

He wanted to help her. He wanted to build a time machine and take her back in time to be able to give her a chance to have the sweet moments with_ her_ dad. He wanted to hold her and tell her that it didn't even matter, that she could share his memories and pretend that they were her own. He wanted, _so badly_, just to make her feel better.

Percy suddenly had an idea. Confident now, he approached Annabeth and hugged his arms around her. She stayed unaffected, her arms still crossed stubbornly across her chest. Percy stepped in front of her and pulled her arms loose from her chest.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspisously as he took both her hands in his and started leading her across the playground. "Where are you taking me?"

He offered a faint, lopsided smile, "You'll see."

They reached the swings and Percy gently pushed her into one. "What are you doing?" she snapped as he walked around behind her and grasped the metal links of her swing.

He laughed, "Come on, I'll push you."

She shot him a skeptical look. "That's retarded. I'm not gonna have you push me on some stupid swing."

Annabeth saw a hurt flash across Percy's face for a second. He dropped his hands from the swing. Annabeth bit down on her lip and cursed at herself for saying the wrong thing.

"Percy, push me."

"No, don't do my any favors Annabeth," he said bitterly. Ouch.

"I said, push me!"

Percy shook his head, "No, I was only going to push you because I thought that's what you wanted."

Hmmm, he was good. Dang it.

"Please? I want you to push me."

No reply.

"Push me!"

"Okay, okay! Geez, don't pop a vein."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and curled her hands around the links of the swing. She lifted her feet of the ground and suddenly felt her heart leap as Percy's hands came and gave her a strong thrust against her back. Suddenly, she was going high. Very high. He pushed her harder and her swing went up higher and higher.

And suddenly she was flying. Seriously, that's what it felt like. How long had it been since she could just kick back and do something silly and just enjoy being an immature kid? Too long.

The wind brushed her face and tossed her hair around, but she didn't care. This was fun. She was completely unaware of the smile that had bloomed across her face and Annabeth had a feeling she must've looked like a complete idiot, but heck, this was so fun! It felt amazing to be swing up higher and higher. There was a rush of excitement as her swing swung back and suddenly sped through the air and soared through the sky above the little playground and then swung back again. Suddenly, Annabeth felt like laughing for no reason at all.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as the swing carried her into the air and lifted her feet off the ground. So this is what it felt to be a young girl playing on a playground and imagining that it was a whole new world waiting to be explored. This is what it felt like to just enjoy the moment and to just relax and have fun. This is what it felt like to be a dreamer again and to believe that anything was possible. This is what she had missed out on.

And when she got off the swing, when her ride was over, she flung her arms around her boyfriend and planted a kiss on his lips. He had given her a beautiful gift: he had helped her create a sweet, heavenly memory, one that she would cherish. He had reminded her that there was a little kid in all of them, simply waiting to have some fun.

And later, as she and Percy rode down the slides (despite her warning Percy that they might crack the slide, since they did happen to weigh more than the average six-year-old) and as they ran around on the play set and chased and tackled each other across the fields, Annabeth's heart felt more full than it ever had felt.

For here was a boy who loved her and strived to make her happy and cherished the moments she smiled and the moments she laughed. Here was a boy who showed her how to live in the moment and how to, sometimes, not think about what you were doing. Here was a boy who was in her most prized recollections and would be in many more to come. Here was a boy who would be there for her forever, until the world stopped turning, until the sun burnt out, until the whole universe came crumbling down. Here was a boy who was all hers.

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**A/N : I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I should've updated sooner, I know! But ~sigh~ school has started for me and eighth grade is _already_ a pain. **

**It's going to be a _long_ year. I have piles and piles of homework every night and starting next week I'll have dance three days a week and I'm usually always busy with my freinds on Fridays, sooooooo I will try to update Saturdays and Sundays! How does that sound? **

**Anyway, oh my God, you guys are the best. I've reached over 200 reviews and I couldn't have done it without every single one of you faithful reviewers! Thank you!**

**And while I was busy not writing new chapters (hehe), I did change the whole format of the story! You like? **

**So this chapter's inspiration just suddenly struck me out of nowhere. That's the best kind of inspiration. I gotta say, this is my favorite chapter yet, although Circle of Love is a close second....**

**Your thoughts? Comments? I'd love to hear them! Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review! **

**xoxo**

**dancechick307 :) **


	20. Under the Stars

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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20. Under the Stars

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"What's that?"

"It's Andromeda's mother, Cassiopeia. Perseus got pissed when she wouldn't let him marry Andromeda so he turned her into stone with Medusa's head. Neptune placed her in the sky, but he arranged it so that at certain times of the year, she'd be upside down. Supposedly it was, like, this huge humiliation."

"Oh, how humiliating. Hmm, what about that one?"

"That's Delphinus, the dolphin who convinced Amphritrite to marry Poseidon. Personally, I think it looks like a kite in the sky rather than a dolphin, but that's just me."

Annabeth turned her head to look at Percy. She took in his sea green eyes, crooked smile and messy dark hair, trying to memorize his face so that he would come back to her in the middle of the night in her dreams. She sighed, quietly and happily, and let her head sink down to rest on Percy's shoulder. His lips pressed to the top of her hair and she couldn't believe how a moment could be as perfect as this one.

Today, Percy had driven Annabeth (in Paul's_ new_ Prius) to the suburbs of New York City. Here they had spent dinner at a small local restaurant and then lied against the grass in the park, watching the stars in the night sky shine above them. New York City's air was much too polluted to able to see any stars out at night, but here, in the quiet suburban, the sky was dotted with millions of them. The sight was something neither of them was quite used to, so they lay in quite awe and wonder as Annabeth pointed out different constellations and Percy would tell her the story, the "myth" behind each of them.

She knew every one of these myths and could recite them backwards and closed-eyed like the back of her hand, but frankly, all the stars looked like a bunch of little specks of sparkling light. Annabeth couldn't seem to connect them in her mind and figure out the picture they drew. Percy, one the other hand, knew every star, every constellation that glittered above. He surprised her like that. As dense as he could be sometimes, he could amaze her when she least expected it. Like being able to identify every star formation in the night sky within a second.

"Oh and that's Cancer, the crab. He was supposed to distract Jason during his battle with the Hydra," Percy whispered, stretching his arm out and tracing the outline of the crab in the stars.

"That's not right. Cancer was sent to distract _Hercules,_ not Jason," Annabeth corrected him.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was Jason."

"Nope, it was Hercules."

"No, you've got it wrong. Cancer was supposed to harass Jason as he battled the Hydra, but it was, like, crushed under his feet."

"No! That was Hercules! Juno was jealous of Hercules, so he sent Cancer to distract him as he fought against the Hydra. Eventually, the crab was crushed under his feet, but as a reward for its faithful service, Juno placed the crab in the heavens."

Percy was silent for a minute, processing this. Then he let out a groan. "Why do you always have to be right, Wise Girl?"

She laughed wrapping her arms around his waist. "I _told_ you, I'm always right." Percy rolled his eyes, but remained quiet; he had nothing to prove her wrong.

"What constellation is that one?" Annabeth suddenly asked, lifting her hand and pointing to an arrangement of stars.

"That's Andromeda. Neptune had sent Cetus, monster, to attack Ethiopia after Cassiopeia had bragged that Andromeda was more beautiful then the Nereids. Her father, Cephus, found out that the only way to stop the monster was to sacrifice his own daughter, so Andromeda was chained to a rock by the sea. But after arriving from defeating Medusa, Perseus turned Cetus into stone - "

"And, therefore, saved Andromeda. Quite a hero, that Perseus," Annabeth finished, getting lost into the immense depths of the night sky and its many stars. "But I still think you're more impressive. You've defeated Medusa, had enough nerve to send her head to the gods, found the Golden Fleece, saved me from Kronos, held up the weight of the whole sky, lead the entire camp during the big battle against Kronos, and saved Olympus by doing the unbelievable: offering your own weapon to your main enemy. Oh, and not to mention, you're sort of invulnerable."

Percy blushed brightly; he wasn't some amazing hero or anything, the way all those conquests had made him sound. He was just a freaking half-blood trying not to get killed and doing his best to save whoever he could. "Yeah, but – but, I had a lot of help. I didn't do all that on my own. Heck, you should know," he protested.

Annabeth reached her head up to plant a quick kiss on his hot cheek. "You're modest too," she whispered and he grew brighter red.

They were quiet again, as a peaceful, eerie silence washed over. Percy searched the dark sky, looking for a familiar formation to point out to Annabeth.

"You see that group of really bright stars? Kind of under Andromeda's constellation?" Percy asked her. When he felt Annabeth nod her head against his shoulder, he went on. "Well, those make up another constellation. That right there is a guy and his arm stretched out towards that girl. Do you see her? Yeah, she's stubborn and won't go along with him because she's just _always_ right." Percy explained, his hand drawing different shapes in the sky has he explained the constellation.

Annabeth untangled her arms from around his waist and rolled to her stomach. She rested her chin in her hand and stared at Percy, her eyebrows raised.

"You just made that up."

"Did not."

"Liar," she accused and slapped him across his chest.

"I'm not lying; that really is a constellation. It's called the, er, Amazing Hero and the Annoying Girl," Percy managed to start out in a straight face, but just as he told Annabeth the name of the constellation he burst out laughing, never a smart idea after just insulting her.

She started smacking him across his chest, harder, and harder, and harder…

"Ow! Okay, stop!" Percy yelped, grabbing her wrists and tangling his fingers with hers to prevent her from smacking him. "I was only joking."

Annabeth shook her head. "No, you're right." She freed her hand from Percy's and pointed up into the sky, drawing a big, round circle. "See that? That's the so-called 'Amazing Hero's' huge, enormous, kelp-filled head!"

"Hey! Didn't you just say I was _modest_?"

"That was before you insulted your brilliant girlfriend."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry then."

"Wait, what was that? What did you say?"

"Shut up," Percy replied, shaking his head. He snaked his arms around Annabeth's neck and pulled her closer.

"That's no way to - "

He pressed his lips to hers, finally shutting her up.

Her fingers ran through his silky hair, and one of his hands cupped her cheek as the other rested on her hip. When they pulled apart, both gasping for air, cheeks flaming hot in the midst of the fiery moment, Annabeth closed her eyes and listened to Percy's heart beat rapidly as his arms hugged her to his chest. They stayed like that for a minute, soaking up the darkness, the gleaming stars above, and the warm presence of each other.

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**A/N : Hola, people! **

**It feels so great to write about Percy and Annabeth again. It's too much fun for a crazy fan girl like me! After having a horrible Friday and a not-so-great Saturday, I was ready for some fluff and happiness! Ah, fan fiction can seriously be the best therapy, I swear. **

**Okay, moving on. How do you like my new chapter? I did some research about constellations (because I knew ZERO about stars), so these myths should be accurate. I know that some constellations you can only see in a certain place or a certain season or whatever, but just ignore that, because I didn't follow any of those rules in my chapter! And sory for any grammar or spelling errors, I was too much in a rush to post this new chapter to go back and edit it! Sorry! **

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys rock! **

**Also, check out my new story, _Tales From Under the Willow Tree_. It's my newest project (besides _Soundtrack of Life_) and I can't wait to write more chapters for it! **

**So, anyway, thanks for reading! Reviews make me ridiculously happy! :P**

**Thanks a million! **


	21. A Day of Daydreams

**Summary: Annabeth, daydreaming the day away and entertaining us all with what _really _****runs through her complex mind. **

**Song Choice: Kiss Me-by Sixpence None The Richer or Hey Stephen-by Taylor Swift**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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21. A Day of Daydreams

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_She could count every one of his eyelashes. She could see the sun's light glistening across his forehead. She could practically hear his heart beat out an unsteady and rapid beat. She could smell the salt sea scent that filled the air. And, then, as he reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her eyes and leaned his head ever closer, she could feel his soft lips brush against hers._

_ In the sky above, a brilliant rainbow of colors had shone as a result of the rain being pushed away by the blinding sun. Behind them, the sea stirred and the sweet sound of trickling water broke the silence. Suddenly a fountain of water sprung up and water twirled around in patterns and poured back into the sea._

_She pulled away from him for a second to soak up this amazing moment: the golden sun slowly setting, the sea green ocean waves unraveling, the mystic fountain, and the flipping dolphin. She stole a glance to her side and saw her boyfriend staring out at the sea in awe too. He caught her eye and she felt a warm blush spread to her cheeks. He turned to face and called out her name, "Annabeth!"_

_"Annabeth!"_

_"Annabeth!"_

"ANNABETH!"

"What?" Annabeth lifted her head up just in time to see her short, stubby Algebra teacher, Mrs. Hoggins, glowering down at her.

"Miss Chase, would you like to join us? Down here on Earth?" Mrs. Hoggins practically spat out at her.

There were a few giggles blurted out across the class, but it was still so quiet that Annabeth was afraid someone else would hear the rapid beat of her heart. Her cheeks were practically giving off their own UV rays, and Annabeth rested the palm of her hand on them, desperate to cool them off so that they didn't betray the sort of fantasies she was having right there in the middle of stupid Algebra class.

"Miss Chase?"

"What? Oh, um, yes. The answer is three-fifths times the quantity of four times two consecutive numbers." Annabeth pushed her hair from out of her face and bent over to scribble the answer down in her notebook. She looked up again waiting for her teacher to tell her she was correct and go back to the dry erase board in front of them.

Mrs. Hoggins blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"

Annabeth sighed; must she explain everything word for word? "The answer to the problem you just wrote on the board is three-fifths times the quantity of four times two consecutive numbers."

Her teacher simply stared at her wide-eyed, glancing to the board back to Annabeth's impatient and clearly annoyed face. She quickly gathered herself. "Y-yes. You're correct. Good work. Okay, so can anyone tell me what the sum of…."

Annabeth leaned her back against her cold metal chair and let Mrs. Hoggins's voice slowly fade to just an annoying buzz in the background. Her mind had been very active today, drawing up all sort of different scenarios and daydreams and some of them were just plain embarrassing. Not for the first time, Annabeth thanked the gods that her mind was hers and her thoughts were not accessible for other people.

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the class and the end of the school day. Eager to leave, Annabeth as the first out the front doors of the school, her blue messenger bag slung over one shoulder and a heavy Biology textbook cradled in her arms.

"Annabeth!" She turned to the sound of her name being called and immediately smiled. Percy was leaning against Paul's car, waving excitedly to her.

Suddenly, her imagination kick-started and a certain daydream flashed through her head.

_"Annabeth!" He called out to her, his voice a sweet melody shattering the silence._

_"Yes?" she replied, facing him. She watched his blue green eyes swimming with excitement. He took her hand in his and a flash of electricity shot through Annabeth. He pulled her closer to the water and, as the waves started crashing against their feet, he lifted her up bridal-style. _

Annabeth, horrified (secretly a bit amused), shook her head violently, hoping that would do the trick of vanishing her dreams. She ran over to Percy and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. His smile widened."Hey," he said, taking the textbook from her hands and slipping it under his arm.

Annabeth raised her eyebrow, "Hmmmm."

"What?"

She smirked and playfully pushed his arm, "That was very good-boyfriend-behavior of you. You know, carrying my books and stuff."

Percy shook his head and a laugh escaped his lips. "Well, I hope this'll add to my 'good-boyfriend behavior.'"

He paused for a moment, watching as Annabeth gave him a puzzled look, cocking her head slightly to the side.

"Paul's letting me take his car to drive you up to the beach one last time before summer ends," Percy announced happily.

Annabeth felt herself literally light up. The summer had come and gone much too soon and now that classes had just started this week, she was practically bursting for one last quick getaway.

"But wait! I need an extra pair of clothes and my swim suit and sunscreen and flip-flops and -"

"Whoa! Hold on there," Percy stopped her. "It's all taken care of."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him, "How?"

"Don't you believe me?"

"When it comes to being prepared, no, I don't."

"Well, you should," Percy retorted. "Look," he said, walking to the back of the car and popping open the truck. Curious, Annabeth followed him and stared at the back trunk, truly shocked.

There were two bags; one was an old navy zippered bag and the other, Annabeth recognized, was her orange beach tote. Inside it was the red swimsuit she and Crystal had bought together, a bottle of sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses, flips-flops, the book she was currently reading this week, a water bottle, and a rolled up towel.

She took a step back and turned to look at Percy's smirking face. "How- how did you get my stuff?"

Percy rolled his eyes (a very annoying thing he seemed to have pick up from _her_) and said, "I told Crystal I was taking you to the beach and she helped me pack all your stuff. I didn't want to waste any time going back to your apartment."

Annabeth bit her lip, soaking up the information, and for once, was speechless.

"Wait, it gets better," he replied, smiling proudly as he unzipped his bag and stepped aside to let Annabeth rummage through it. She found two neatly saran-wrapped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a plastic container filled with grapes and strawberries, and a Ziploc baggie filled with carrot sticks.

She felt her heart swell up and become so heavy that she was certain she would drop to her knees under its weight. "You did all this?" she managed to mutter.

Percy ran his hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

Annabeth dropped her messenger bag to the pavement and flung her arms around his neck. She buried her head in her favorite spot on Percy – the warm, soft skin in between his shoulder and neck.

"Thanks," she whispered against his skin. It was an overwhelming feeling knowing that he'd gone through all that to make sure that this day was going to be a great one.

"Anytime," he said, his voice vibrating in her ear. "Come on, Wise Girl. We don't have _all_ day," her replied gently, pulling away from her. She nodded.

* * *

Annabeth lay back onto her towel, a smile stretching so wide across her face that her cheeks were beginning to hurt.

Once they had arrived to the beach, they had unpacked the lunch Percy had made and finished it all up. They splashed around in the water a bit and ran around the beach chasing each other with handfuls of wet sand (Because they're _never_ too old for that)

And now, they were simply relaxing, watching as the sun began to descend in the sky. Percy plopped himself down next to Annabeth and lay back on his towel. He pulled her back up against his chest, and she settled there comfortably.

She could feel his breath tingle on her skin and suddenly her mind was zooming through a dream.

_He continued to carry her, bridal-style, as they made their way through the water. The waves stirred around them, bobbing up and down. Now, the cold seawater was up to their waists, and softly, he let her down. His arms stayed, however, wrapped around her waist until her feet were planted safely on the sandy bottom of the ocean._

_She was about to tangle her arms around his neck when he suddenly bent down to the water and started murmuring words in Greek. The girl stared at him curiously as he straightened up and turned to face her again._

_"Wha-"_

_He put his finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet. She obeyed, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, the sound of a splash made her turn around in surprise. She watched, wide-eyed, as a dolphin jumped out form beneath the waters and flipped in the air, diving headfirst back into the sea._

_She laughed in delight and turned to look at her boyfriend in amazement. He smiled at her joy and simply raised his palm to the sky. As if this were a signal, two dolphins simultaneously burst out and did a series of summersaults in the sky._

_And then, more and more dolphins joined them. They jumped out of the water at different times each impressing the girl with their own routine of twirls and flips and turns. She was so busy watching them jumping all around her that she hadn't noticed her boyfriend slip his arms around her waist._

_She twisted in his arms and cupped his cheek with her hand. "Amazing," she whispered, and the girl felt her heart soar into the sky as he leaned down to kiss her again._

Annabeth woke with a start from her daydream as soon as she felt something warm slip into her hand. Percy's hand.

Oh, God. What was wrong with her? Dolphins and rainbows and kisses and –

"Come on," Percy said, standing up in front of her and tugging at her hand. She pushed all her silly thoughts to the very back of her mind and got up.

As he started to lead her towards the ocean, Annabeth abruptly stopped. Was this some kind of joke?

Percy turned around. He pulled her hand gently, "Annabeth! Come on!"

Her eyes were wide and her cheeks burning with heat. Percy took a step towards her.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked suddenly, noticing something that was clearly making Annabeth uncomfortable.

It took everything to not stare at his mesmerizing lips. _Get it together! _She silently cursed at herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, flashing him a smile. He returned it and pulled her towards the sea again.

And suddenly he was running into the water and dragging her with him!

They collided into the cold waves and were swept underneath the water. Exhilaration mixed with a cold chill ran through Annabeth, and she suddenly felt Percy's arms around her and pulling her above the water.

"Er, sorry," he said nervously. She was completely soaked (he wasn't; being a son of Poseidon and all) and, as a breeze swept across the beach, that probably wasn't the wisest thing. But instead of glaring at him, Annabeth was suddenly laughing. She squirted water up into Percy's face, and he dived to grab her as soon as she tried running away. And soon they were both cracking up and splashing each other.

Percy chased her as she trudged through the water and he finally reached her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. She laughed in acknowledgement. The water was high up now; it reached Annabeth's chest. She turned around to face him, and he rested his forehead against her….

_...She could count every one of his eyelashes. She could see the sun's light glistening across his forehead. She could practically hear his heart beat out an unsteady and rapid beat…_

And then he leaned in and kissed her, and she placed her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

And it was probably the best kiss ever, even better than the ones in her daydreams because this one was _real._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: The end! Haha, I bet _nobody_ guessed that's what Annabeth is always lost in thought about...**

**I know her daydreams are a bit OOC, but I don't care, I thought they were just too funny! **

**Before I go on and ramble about pointless things: This chapter is dedicated to NinjaWriter11 for coming up with the fluffy idea of a fountain of water and jumping dolphins in the background as Annabeth and Percy share a kiss! So virtual Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream to her!**

**Okay, on with the rambling! **

**Thank you guys so so so much! I'm amazed at how many people are reading this story, favorite-ing it, adding it to their alerts, and reviewing! I'm sorry I don't reply to every single review. I try, but there's just not enough time during the day to do everything I want. Does anyone else feel that way?**

**Well, I have happy news! I just got my very first English essay of the year handed back to me and GUESS WHAT? Oh yeah, I got an A+. :P**

**Anyway, I just got back from a football game. My friends are cheerleaders for the football team, so we hung out and it was all fun...Don't know why I'm telling you this, but yeah...**

**Okay! So, hopefully, I'll get the second chapter of _Tales From Under the Willow Tree_ posted tomorrow or Sunday! And also expect another chapter in _Soundtrack of Life! _**

**That's all for now! Happy Labor Day weekend! Yay! Thanks for reading! Please review! It would make my day!**

**xoxo**

**dancechick307**


	22. Lost and Found

**Summary: The first part of a two-part adventure when Annabeth and Percy find a stray puppy and decide to take care of it. **

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetme, one love)

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22. Lost and Found

* * *

"Annabeth, come on! We were supposed to be there, like, half an hour ago!" Crystal called from downstairs, where she was leaning against the kitchen countertops, arms folded across her chest, a scowl across her face, her foot tapping impatiently, waiting for her half-sister.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Annabeth yelled back. She ran her hand down her skirt in an attempt to un-wrinkle it and then looked down at her feet only to realize that she had forgotten her shoes. "Dang it!"

Annabeth spun around suddenly, forgetting that the guest bed was right behind her, and stubbed her toe against the wooden foot. "Ouch!" She cried, grabbing her toe as she hopped on one foot to the vanity table.

She wasn't normally like this. In fact, she wasn't_ ever_ like this. Being disorganized and messy gave Annabeth a headache, so instead, she had always forced herself to think ahead of time, make a plan, and decide on every detail – so that when the time came, she wouldn't be unprepared.

But today, was a different story. She and Percy had gone out to an annual art festival, one that came every fall and showcased young, and aspiring artists' work. They'd met up with Rachel and talked for a while, but she didn't have too much time because she had to greet everyone else who had come up to her art stand. Then Percy had taken Annabeth out to lunch – yes, to her favorite Chinese place. And then they had ended up making out under their favorite tree in Central Park. Some things never change.

They'd lost track of time, like they normally do in the presence of each other, and Annabeth had completely forgotten that she and Crystal were going out to dinner to a nice restaurant with the rest of Crystal's family. So she had raced back home, taken a shower in five minutes, and started changing immediately. Technically, she and Crystal shouldn't have been late, since Annabeth had already laid out the clothes for this evening last night before she went to bed.

Apparently, though, a little brat had come into her room and trashed it – her clothes thrown around her room, her sheets messed up, her books all out of order of the books shelves. Ugh! She could not find _anything_ when someone had gone through her stuff!

Annabeth plopped herself onto the chair across the vanity table, ignoring her throbbing big toe. She was about to reach under the table to pull out her shoes, when something shining in the light caught her eye.

It was a photo, carefully tucked under the mirror's frame. She had a lot of pictures on her mirror – a picture of her and Percy in Central Park, one of Grover and Juniper and Percy and herself, sprawled across the grassy field at camp, one photo of her and Thalia hugging each other tightly on the top of Half-Blood Hill, another one of her and Percy laying against a blanket star-gazing.

But this photo was a more recent one. It was taken just last week, and it had captured a moment, both sweet and sad.

* * *

_About One Week Ago…_

Walking down the street, hand-in-hand with Annabeth, feeling her warm skin beneath his, breathing in the lavenders soap aurora she seemed to have, walking right beside her, matching her stride, was a feeling Percy would never really get used to.

It was a chilly afternoon; they were both dressed in jeans and jackets. Passing by Central Park, it seemed almost unrecognizable. Just a few days ago it had been so green. Now, the trees looked oddly bare, their leaves, crumpled and orange, had fallen, covering the ground in piles of orange and brown and yellow. The cool wind had finally pushed summer away, and instead, brought along a chilly autumn.

Percy and Annabeth continued to walk down the sidewalk, when suddenly the silence was shattered by the barking of a puppy.

Annabeth, woken up from thought, looked around confused. "Where's that coming from?"

Percy shrugged; he couldn't see any dogs and still the barking sounded so close. They walked another few steps until they had reached one of the many entrances of Central Park. It was here that Annabeth spotted the puppy that she had heard.

"Aw, Percy, look!" She said, as she ran over to the puppy almost hidden behind some bushes. She crouched down beside it and lifted her palm up to the dog. He stopped barking and hesitantly lifted its wet nose to her palm. It started to lick her hand excitedly, and Annabeth grinned down at the lump of golden fur. She scratched the puppy behind its ears, and it seemed to like this so much, with his tail wagging furiously and little pink tongue hanging out, that Percy chuckled at the sight.

He crouched down beside the dog too and lifted his palm, imitating Annabeth. "Hey there, boy."

As the dog came out further from behind the bushes to eagerly lick Percy's hand, he and Annabeth finally got a good look at it. It was obviously a stray dog or one who didn't have a good owner at all. It was a puppy, his body was still small and his excitement was practically tangible, but it was bound to grow larger. It was a golden retriever, although his golden fur was brown at some parts and small leaves had gotten tangled in his fur. The puppy was skinny too; you could see a few of its ribs through its fur.

"I wonder, if he has a owner," thought Percy aloud as he petted the puppy's fur.

"Or she," Annabeth pointed out. When Percy gave her a confused look, she added, "You wonder if he – or _she_ – has a owner."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

She bumped him with her elbow. "Don't say whatever. It's not nice to be sexist."

He let out a small laugh, shaking his head.

"And, besides, I don't think he or she does. The puppy looks like a stray," she pointed out.

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Duh," Annabeth replied. They both stood up, and she scratched the dog behind its ear one last time. "Bye, puppy!" she called over her shoulder just before she and Percy made their way around the corner and walked out of sight.

* * * *

"Uh, miss? There are no dogs allowed inside the restaurant. Sorry."

Annabeth looked up from her plate confused. She and Percy had gone to a local Italian place for lunch, and their waiter had just served them their food.

"Sorry?" She glanced at Percy, and he mirrored her puzzled look.

The waiter pushed his blonde locks out his hair and looked over his shoulder. "Your dog? You're not allowed to bring him in."

"But I don't even have a -" Annabeth stopped herself after recognizing the small and timid-looking golden retriever sitting at the front door of the restaurant, wagging his tail excitedly. "Oh, Gods."

"What?" The waiter asked, knotting his eyebrows together. "Look, I'm sorry, but you have to take him outside or we're gonna have to ask you to leave."

Percy followed Annabeth's stare and noticed the dog for the first time. "You've made a mistake; that's not our dog," he explained, pointing to the lost puppy. Then suddenly the puppy started racing across the restaurant, barking like mad, at the signal of Percy's hand.

"No! What – what are you – Stop! _Stop!_" Annabeth cried as she watched in horror as the puppy scurried right in front of a waitress balancing four plates in her arms. The puppy made her trip and drop all four plates. They shattered as they hit the floor, and pieces of leftover food went flying everywhere. The dog continued to run until it leaped up onto Percy and Annabeth's table, knocking over their drinks and, not to mention, the saltshaker.

* * * *

"Why is it that whenever we actually decide to go out to a nice restaurant something bad ends up happening?" Percy asked frustrated, letting out a sigh.

After the little incident with the dog, they had gotten many loud complaints from the other customers about their disruptive dog and also gotten kicked out of the restaurant. The only good thing that happened was that their waiter had hurriedly packed their food in to-go boxes free of charge.

Annabeth, however, seemed to think the whole thing was amusing. She had been hiding a smile (unsuccessfully) and at hearing Percy say this, she began to laugh. "Well, at least, I'm not wet," she added playfully, lacing her fingers with Percy's. Percy groaned; he'd prefer to not remember that night their date went horribly wrong.

He leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek, when a loud bark sounded from behind them. Percy turned around to see the lost puppy still following them.

He was about to snap something not so nice, when Annabeth crouched down and scratched the dog behind his ears. "Aw, aren't you just adorable?"

Percy rolled his eyes. Great. The stupid dog had gotten them kicked out of the restaurant and Annabeth was going all goo-goo over it.

Suddenly a pair of big bright blue puppy dog eyes was staring up at him expectantly. The puppy let out a small whine and wagged his tail. Percy gave the dog a lopsided smile, one he normally reserved just for Annabeth, and gave in to petting the puppy on his back.

Annabeth laughed as the dog licked Percy's chin, much to his dismay. "What are we going to do with him?" he asked Annabeth. "Or her?" he added.

She bit down on her bottom lip. Suddenly her eyes lit up and a smile broke across her face. "Can we keep it?"

Percy stared at her dumbfounded for a second. "_What_?"

"Can we keep the puppy?" she asked more forcefully this time.

"Annabeth, where are we gonna keep the dog? Who's gonna take care of it? What if it has rabies? What if it trashes everything and pees on the furniture?" He pointed out.

Annabeth just ignored him, continuing to scratch the cute puppy behind his ears. "We'll figure it out. I mean, the puppy will probably need to stay at your place because Kyle's allergic to dogs, and we'll take care of it. Or I should, _I'll_ take care of it. I'll buy its dog food and take it on a walk and potty train and whatever else it takes. I just need you to give the dog a place to stay."

Percy didn't answer. For some reason, this bothered him and he didn't know why. Maybe it was because what Annabeth wanted to do, take in a stray puppy suddenly, seemed so, well, un-Annabethish. She never did anything so suddenly, so out of the blue, so unexpectedly. This was a first.

"Please?" Annabeth asked, tearing her stare away from the puppy and to Percy instead. Suddenly, he found himself at the subject of two pairs of puppy dog eyes – and, again, he couldn't refuse.

He sighed. "I didn't even know you liked dogs so much," he mumbled, scratching the eager puppy's head.

Annabeth shrugged innocently. She wouldn't ever admit this to him, but finding the timid puppy hiding behind a bush at the park had made her think about how she must've looked like when she had ran away from home at only seven – lost and a little frightened, too small to take on such a big world.

She wanted to take care of the puppy and give it a home. She reached down and opened her arms wide for the small puppy. It leaped into her arms eagerly and snuggled in deeper, rubbing his thin coat of warm fur against her skin.

"We should get going. It's getting late," Percy whispered. He was right; as the year grew closer and closer to winter, the sunlight grew lesser and darkness crept up sooner.

She gently dropped the puppy out of her arms and stood up besides Percy. He signaled the puppy to follow them. "We're going home, come on –" He stopped mid-sentence. "We should give the dog a name, since, well, we're going to be keeping it and all."

Annabeth stared at Percy for a minute, amazed at his suggestion. "Yeah, we should," she finally said. "Wait, is it a boy or a girl?"

Percy raised his eyebrows and looked down at the dog, "I'm not sure, and I'm not checking either."

Annabeth blushed. "Well, neither am I!" She cried.

"How about Max or Jack? They can be names for both a girl or a guy," he suggested.

Annabeth made a face. "Oh, yeah, those are _really _unique."

"Well, what do you want to call him?" he shot back. Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Or her?" he quickly added.

"Well," She cocked her head to the side, scrutinizing the dog. "We could call him – or her – Puppy."

"Puppy?" Percy repeated, certain he had not heard right.

"Yeah, Puppy."

"Wow, you're right, that's _totally_ original," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do_ you _have a better idea?"

"Well, no, but-"

"What? I like Puppy. Puppy, go fetch! Puppy, come here! Puppy, sit! Puppy, stop chewing the sofa! See it fits perfectly," she snapped, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, what are we gonna call Puppy when he – or _she_ – isn't a puppy anymore?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up." She scooped Puppy into her arms are looked at Percy expectantly. Percy eyed the happy dog - _Puppy_ - who was resting peacefully in his girlfriend's arms and began leading the way back to his apartment. Well, his mother and Paul were in for a big surprise.

* * *

**A/N:** Ta-da! I hoped you liked it! I tried to update earlier, but I just couldn't. It felt like school had drained out all my creativeness (is that a word?)! Ick.

Anyway, this is just part one of our little puppy adventure. This chapter had originally been longer, but it started to drag on for too long and I still wasn't done, so I'm splitting it up into two parts! (like Meet the Parents) Okay? :P

Okay, moving on, I have a bunch of thanks to give out!

First, virtual cookie dough to **_percabethrocks _**for being my 300th reviewer! Second, thanks a million to all my anonymous reviewers. You guys are so loyal, and I wish I could reply to your reviews, but I can't :(.Third, a virtual bear hug to everyone and their positive feedback! You people make my day.

What else would you like to see on _The Life and Times_? Ideas are always welcome, and of course, if I use your idea, you'll get a special dedication. :)

Before I finish my endless rambling,** can anyone guess whose trashed Annabeth's room at the beginning of the chapter? **

Okay, that's all for now! Reviews are always a plus. :)

Lots of love,

dancechick307


	23. Picture Perfect

**Summary: The second installment of our two-part Puppy adventure! Enjoy!**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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23. Picture Perfect

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"Sponge?" Annabeth asked, reading off a little notepad.

Percy held up a brand new yellow sponge purchased from PETCO only a few hours ago.

"Check," Annabeth replied, crossing that item off her list.

The couple was planning on giving Puppy a bath. The minute they had walked through the front door of Percy's apartment, Puppy had gone crazy, sniffing everything in the place, jumping up and down on the couch, and licking Paul's face as though it were a melting popsicle on a hot summer day. Percy let Annabeth do all the explaining about how the dog had found them, but Annabeth made him tell Sally about their plan to keep Puppy.

At first Sally was hesitant, but after Annabeth (who is apparently the smartest half-blood ever – according to Percy's mom) reassured her that raising Puppy and taking care of him (or her, they still weren't sure which one it was) would be a task she would be handling, Mrs. Jackson gave in. After all, who could reject such cute Puppy eyes?

"Okay, Puppy's allowed to stay here on one condition," Mrs. Jackson quickly warned, as she gave Puppy a nice back rub.

"What's that?" asked Percy, he recognized his mother's tone all too well.

Sally exchanged a knowing smile with Paul. "You give him a bath. Puppy smells really bad."

And of course, Annabeth being Annabeth, refused to just jump right into the tub and scrub Puppy down with four Dove soap boars and then hose him down with the shower head. Oh, no! They had to go all the way to PETCO where the obsessed animal lovers go and buy all this crap for some dog they found on the side of Central Park.

Look at what his girlfriend had gotten him into.

"Percy? _Hello?_ I _said_ do we have the pet shampoo and conditioner?" Annabeth asked, tapping her foot annoyingly against the ground indicating that he had been zoning off again.

Percy stared down at her tapping foot and suddenly had the urge to stomp on it. But the thought soon disappeared after he thought about how badly she could kick his butt.

"Yeah, the shampoo and conditioner is right here," he replied, holding up the two bottles. Annabeth gave a nod and went back to her list. She mumbled a little more to herself and scribbled down some things onto the notepad.

She suddenly looked up. "Water?"

"What?" Percy's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

Annabeth sighed, "Do we have water?"

Percy rolled his eyes and turned the handle in the bathtub, watching water stream out of it. "Yeah, _check_," he said, mocking her voice. Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him and ran out the bathroom to get Puppy.

For the next hour, behind the locked door of the bathroom, chaos had erupted. Annabeth and Percy had soon realized that Puppy did not like taking a bath. Neither did he like people grooming his coat, probably because he hadn't been cleaned in far too long, Annabeth had pointed out.

"No! Stop! Get back here – _NOW_!"

"Quick, get the shampoo!"

"Okay, I'll hold 'em down while you scrub! – Wait, Puppy!"

"Ugh! I told you to hold Puppy!"

"I _was_ holding him!"

"Then why did – Okay, okay, never mind!"

"Get me the towel so that I can dry him."

"Or_ her_ – we don't know –"

"Annabeth? Shut up!"

* * * *

"Hey," Annabeth greeted Percy as she flung open his apartment's door.

Percy wasn't surprised that she was at _his_ house before he was. She normally spent so much of her time here because of him that it wasn't surprising to find her at the Jacksons' apartment. But lately, it had been as though she practically lived here. She was here all the time, trying to spend as much time with Puppy as she could, as though one day he were going to disappear and never come back.

"Hi." Percy gave her quick kiss on the cheek and walked in, but managed to avoid all eye contact.

Puppy came running up to him, resting his front paws resting on Percy's shins. Percy bent down and gave Puppy a quick scratch between his ears. Annabeth was staring at them happily the whole time, and as Percy stood up and caught her glance, she noticed something – not the cheerful happiness she was feeling – reflect in his eyes.

She frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Percy shook his head. "Sorry," he said, tucking one of her blonde locks behind her ear and handing her a yellow flyer.

Percy watched as her eyes scanned the paper reading everything slowly as though it could not be true, and he waited, dreading her response. Because if she was hurt, then he was too.

Percy had just gotten off at school when Annabeth had texted him, asking him to please, quickly run to Wal-Mart and pick up the photos that they'd taken. Annabeth had insisted carrying her camera wherever they went with Puppy. Call it Puppy love; she was completely obsessed over this little dog.

Not that Percy didn't like Puppy – he did, just not as much as Annabeth.

Anyway, Percy had stopped by Wal-Mart and picked up the photos. He had reached his apartment's building and was riding up in the elevator when a bright yellow flyer that had been tacked onto the apartment building's bulletin board of announcements had caught his eye. There was all sorts of papers tacked on it from the residents of Percy's apartment building: lost and found notices, party invites, band promotions.

This flyer happened to be a paper concerning a family's lost dog, and a blown up photo of their dog took up most of the "Lost" flyer.

Percy had ripped the flyer off the bulletin board and followed the directions to the family's apartment. He rang the doorbell and after talking to the mom and her young daughter, his worst fear was confirmed.

He promised to keep an eye out for their lost puppy and said good-bye.

He rode the elevator again and folded the flyer in his pocket, wondering what on Earth he was going to tell Annabeth.

And here he was.

"No," Annabeth suddenly said, looking up from the flyer. Her voice sounded strong and determined, but it was the little quiver at the end that told Percy that she understood – she just didn't _like _it. But, then again, who did?

"I just can't believe that –" she started and then stopped herself.

"I know," he muttered. Her hand reached out and took Percy's, and she allowed the warmth radiating off his skin to give her a little comfort.

They both turned to look at Puppy, who was cluelessly playing around with a red rubber ball they had bought for him.

Puppy wasn't a stray; he was a lost dog. Actually he wasn't Puppy at all; he was Lucky.

Percy, remembering this after his conversation with the dog's family, told Annabeth about Puppy's real name. Her nose scrunched up in distaste. "Ugh,wow, that's _really__–_ "

"-Original, I know," Percy finished for her, and she gave him a quick smile. Annabeth let go of his hand and scooped Puppy into her arms as she sat down on the couch. She took Puppy's paws in her hands and waved them around, causing Puppy's tail to wag furiously back and forth. She then proceeded in scratching him behind his ear, and Puppy gave her a sloppy,wet kiss on the cheek.

"Annabeth, you know, we gotta return him." Percy hadn't meant to sound harsh; he just wanted her to face the reality.

She scowled and bit her lip, as she continued to scratch Puppy behind his ear. She felt the couch adjust beneath her as Percy went to sit next to her. He gently laid his hand on the small of her back, a small signal to remind her that he was waiting for her response.

She turned her head to him, her eyes pouring into his. Her lips twitched and a sad, small smile broke out across her face. "You know I _hate_ it when you're right."

* * * *

It was done.

It happened this morning at eleven o'clock.

Puppy was gone, and now, he had been transformed back to Lucky and taken back to his real family.

The most important thing was that Puppy was happy. You should've seen the way his tail was wagging when Susie, the little girl Percy had met, had appeared at the front door. But that did not stop Puppy from racing into Percy's and Annabeth's arms one last time. He was probably the luckiest puppy out there (Hence his names, _Lucky_ and _Puppy_. Get it? Haha). He had two families now, not just one.

Percy closed the door and turned to face Annabeth. Her face was well-masked; her lips were set in a line, her eyes were staring straight ahead, and her arms were folded across her chest – but Percy knew.

He held his arms out, and she hesitated a moment before rushing into them. She held him tightly for a minute, and he reciprocated the action, breathing in her scent and enjoying her warmth. Then she pulled back – neither of them were really emotional, but in spite of what just happened, the sad silence that hung between them was practically tangible.

Annabeth went to sit back on the couch, and Percy soon followed. He angled his body towards her and watched as she kept her eyes down and kept her fingers busy playing with zipper on his sweatshirt.

"Oh, I almost forget!" Percy thought aloud. He reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out the package he had run to WalMart to get – the package of photos.

Annabeth eagerly took them and flipped through the photos. At first, they didn't help; the pictures just reminded her of how much she had grown attached to the puppy and how she couldn't have him anymore.

But then she reached a photo that made her laugh out loud. It was taken on an abnormally hot day at the park. Percy and Annabeth were sitting on a bench, his arm resting on her shoulders and her head leaning slightly towards him. Puppy sat, tall and proud, on her lap. Just as the picture was being taken, Puppy had reached up and licked Annabeth across the chin. The action had caused her to giggle uncontrollably at the touch of Puppy's cold, wet tongue on her skin. The photo had captured Percy staring at Annabeth with an amused smile that reached his majestic blue-green eyes, Annabeth's nose scrunched up, her eyes squeezed close, and Puppy's pink tongue licking her chin.

No, it wasn't perfect; neither of them had been looking at the camera. But that was just it. It wasn't perfect; it was just a sweet reminder of how crazy and unexpected and amazing Puppy had been. And that's why out of a huge package of photos, Annabeth had chosen this one to slip into her pocket and keep in her room back at Crystal's place.

Percy had kept the rest of photos in his room. His mother had gone out and bought him a white circular box, and he scribbled_ Puppy_ on the lid in his unsightly handwriting. He stored all his photos of Puppy in there, so that the memory of this special little dog would always be remembered and cherished.

* * *

_End Flashback... Back to Annabeth's Room..._

"Hey, Annabeth! I found your jacket. Somehow it had 'mysteriously' disappeared to Courtney's room," Crystal said, as she walked into the bedroom. She came to a halt when she saw Annabeth sitting at the vanity just staring at a photo. "Wait, what are you doing?"

Annabeth fumbled when she saw Crystal. "Oh, uh, just getting ready!" she answered slipped on her shoes at the speed of light, grabbed her jacket out of Crystal's hands, and raced out the room before Crystal could say another word. All the while, Annabeth had managed to drop the photo she had been gazing at, and Crystal watched curiously as it floated on top of a pile of tank tops on the floor.

She bent down and picked the photo up. She had heard so many stories of this sweet little dog; she'd heard Annabeth obsess over it so much, but then all of a sudden the stories stopped and Annabeth no longer talked of this cute puppy. And Crystal didn't ask. Call it a "sibling connection" or whatever, but she just somehow knew that whatever had happened Annabeth preferred not to be asked about it.

That didn't stop Crystal from finding out though. She had asked Percy on night while he was waiting for Annabeth at their apartment. He explained quickly and told her how much it had affected Annabeth. It seemed a little funny, how just a small lost puppy could have such an impact on her, the smart and clever and cautious Annabeth. But life was special like that, the little things were sometimes the ones that mattered the most to us.

As Crystal looked at the photo, she saw so many things; a sweet moment captured on film, an unforgettable day, the memory of an adorable golden retriever, a day in the life of Percy and Annabeth. And the only sadness she experienced from this photo was the thought of never being able to meet this wondrous and beautiful little puppy.

* * *

**A/N : Hello, hello! How did you like my chapter? I was kind of sad to see our little puppy adventure come to an end, but it's been fun! What do you guys think of Puppy? Should he (or she!) have stayed with Percy & Annabeth? **

**By the way, the answer to last week's chapter question was : Courtney! Crystal's little sister from Drama Queen, remember? Haha, kudos to those who guessed it right!**

**Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! You people make me want to write FASTER! **

**Okay, now to continue my famously long author's note (aren't they _always_ super long?), I'm going to address something me and Window Child (she's an awesome writer! Check out her stories!) have noticed in the PJO fandom. There has been a big decrease in reviews! Yes, not for just my stories or hers, but just in general. I do get lots of reviews, but they come alot slower. They are still appreciated, don't get me wrong. :P**

**We just feel as though the fandom's excitement is dying - and that's just sad! This fandom is too young to die and I'm not ready to leave it just yet! **

**So show your support: review, review, review! I'll be doing the same. Since you guys review my story, I'll return the favor and review your story. Just tell me what you want me to r&r in your review! We gotta spread the PJO love together! Yeah!**

**Haha, anyway, wow, it's October? Can you believe it?! Just last weekend I went shopping for _sweaters and jeans and Uggs._ My God, the year has gone by so fast. **

**Okay, well, I love you all :) **

**Review please & I'll love you more. Thanks a million !**


	24. Mind Reader

**Summary: Percy cannot read minds, despite what Annabeth thinks...**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth **

(one lifetime, one love)

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24. Mind Reader

* * *

Annabeth had finally realized, much to her disappointment, that Percy couldn't read her mind.

He was, in fact, pretty clueless. She was really hoping that maybe, _just maybe_, underneath that adorable confused face was a guy who could pick up a few hints. But, apparently, that was _way_ too much to ask for. She had, without any luck, been trying to tell Percy (without really telling him) that she was dying for him to take her to the Metropolitan Museum to see the new additions to the Greek section.

But here they were, still eating take out in his apartment. She had been working on a crossword, and his head was rested against her lap.

"I heard they brought a whole bunch of new pieces to the Greek section at the Met," she said loudly for about the fifth time that evening.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time," Percy replied as he kept flipping through the channels with the TV remote.

Annabeth had the sudden urge to rip the remote out of his hands, chuck it out the window, and happily watch it break as it hit the pavement below. "Well, I _also _heard that the pieces are really interesting, amazing even."

"Yeah? That's cool."

Annabeth let out a loud sigh and smacked Percy on the forehead with her rolled up crossword.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself! Do you honestly not know what I'm getting at?" Annabeth searched his face: his eyebrows scrunched together, his head slightly cocked to one side, his mouth in a scowl.

"Gods, you really _are _a Seaweed Brain."

"I heard that! You really - "

"I want to go!"

"What? Go _where?_"

"I want you to…no, I would _like _it if you took me to the exhibit at the Met."

"Oh," Percy stared at her in confusion for a few seconds, "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"Well, because! Because…I wanted you to ask me!"

"Annabeth, I can't read your mind."

"You're my boyfriend and my best friend! You're supposed to just figure a few things out, especially when I drop you all these hints."

"Hints? What _hints?_ I couldn't tell! I can tell when you're upset or excited or happy. And _especially_ when you're mad because you give me that annoying glare and stick out your chin and cross your arms across your chest and –"

"I do _not!_"

Percy placed his hands on her arms that had been folded across her chest and slowly pulled them apart to prove his point.

"Whatever," Annabeth huffed and turned away from him. Percy cursed at himself under his breath; why was it that he could never do anything right?

"Why are you mad? How was I supposed to know that you wanted to go?"

"It's just," Annabeth cringed, thinking abut how she must sound like one of those annoying, naggy, and clingy girlfriends on TV, "I'd like it if you did stuff sometimes without me asking you to, like taking me out."

"I did take you out! We went out to that Italian restaurant on Monday!"

"Percy!"

"What? You're not honestly going to tell me that that doesn't count as 'going out'!"

"No, but how about someplace that doesn't require ordering food? Besides I _told_ you I wanted to go eat out an Italian place for lunch."

"Well, I don't see what the problem is with you just telling me to take you wherever you want! Because you know I would."

"I know, but it'd be nice if sometimes you took me somewhere yourself just…well, just because you felt like it."

"I took you out yesterday! Remember? I showed up at Crystal's place, rang the doorbell, and you had no idea I was coming."

"You picked me up to go run errands for your mom."

"So?"

"Ugh! Just forget it okay? I don't want to go out. I don't want you to take me anywhere."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

* * *

After watching the highlights of last year's Super Bowl and two episodes of _The Office_ in complete silence, Percy decided he couldn't take Annabeth not talking to him. He actually _missed _all the talking she usually did, even though half the time it went in one ear and out the other.

"Annabeth?"

She didn't ignore him, which was probably a good sign. She lifted her head up to meet his eyes, and he suddenly felt a blush creep up his neck.

"I was thinking…maybe you want to go to the Met? I heard they have some new stuff in their Roman section," he cracked a small smile and held his breath waiting for her response. An eye roll, a big sigh – anything really.

Annabeth's lips twitched and her lips curved into a familiar smile. Percy let out his breath.

"Greek section," she corrected him, rolling her eyes. "And I'd love to."

He slipped his hand into hers and pulled her up from the couch. As she stood up, he pressed his lips to hers. He pulled apart too soon for her liking, but had kissed her long enough to make her knees feel like mush.

"I'm sorry."

Those words did it. That's all she needed to hear.

"It's okay. It's not a big deal," she said, feeling an invisible weight lift form off her shoulders. She hated when they argued like this. Playful, flirtatious banter she could take, but this stupid fighting was time wasted when they could be doing better things…like making out.

* * *

They were finally here. The Metropolitan Museum of Art had been just as big and grand and beautiful as ever. They had walked through the corridors glancing at the Egyptians' section and then at the Renaissance paintings until they had finally reached the Greek Art.

Truth be told, Percy could've cared less about some artist's perception of his crazy mythology-filled world, but Annabeth loved every bit of it. She would stare at a sculpture and start to go off about how it was marvelously made of bronze or carved out of marble or whatever.

"Aren't the sculptures amazing?" Annabeth asked, mesmerized by the skillful work of the sculptors and their visions of Greek heroes and creatures.

Percy ran a hand through his hair and felt his cheeks warm up. "Um, yeah, except the statues…" his voice trailed off as he bent down to read a name plate labeled _Hercules_ underneath a statue of a man bearing absolutely nothing but a sharpened spear. Right next to him was another sculpture of some other Greek hero; his clothing was also absent.

"…They're all sort of, uh, naked," he finished uncomfortably.

"It's art, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth snapped, though even as she said this she felt her own cheeks match his blush.

* * *

The night had been fun. Percy had patiently listened to her blab on and on about Greek architecture and the art of sculpting. He'd held her hand as they passed through displays of ancient art kept safe behind glass cases. She'd even caught him staring at her one too many times.

But the night was over, and much to Percy's secret pleasure, it was time to head back to his apartment.

Standing at the bottom of the steps of the Met waiting for the bus to arrive, Annabeth turned to face her boyfriend. She owed him big time for the amazing night she had and after hearing his stomach growl for the past hour, she knew exactly how to make it up to him.

"Percy? I wanna tell you something," she began, pushing a random strand of hair behind her ear.

"Let me guess," Percy started, and he leaned in to kiss her again. Hey, maybe he could really read minds.

Annabeth pulled back a little early and give his shoulder a playful nudge.

"Actually, I was going to say -"

"Wait! You're cold aren't you?" Percy interrupted her. He took his fleece jacket off and draped it over her shoulders the way the men do in cheesy, romantic movies.

Annabeth smirked, "No, I was going to say that –"

"- That you're inspired by all this Greek stuff that now you wan to go to the library? As fun as that sounds, I'm pretty sure the library's closed right now…but if you_ really_ want to…"

"Percy! I was just going to say that I could really use some pizza right now," Annabeth cut him off.

"Oh," Percy blinked a few times and then offered a smile that made her heart skip a beat. "Pizza sounds good, and I _told _you couldn't read minds."

"Hm, that's too bad." And she leaned in and gave him another kiss. And this one lasted long enough for the people beside them to make a couple of snide remarks.

As they pulled apart for air, Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and took in his warmth, all the while thinking about how she got so lucky.

No, Percy couldn't read her mind. He couldn't take all the hints she dropped, couldn't figure out that they were a puzzle, and that he had to put them all together to figure out what she really meant.

But he wasn't a lost cause either. He knew how to make her smile. He tried his hardest to make her happy. He knew all her flaws and managed to love her anyway. He knew that she loved Vivaldi's Four Seasons, that she hated it when someone interrupted her to answer their cell phone, and that soy sauce made her gag.

He wasn't hopeless or clueless, nor was he a mind reader or even perfect.

But he was Percy.

And that alone was just enough for Annabeth.

* * *

**A/N : Hey! Long time no see! Er, haha? Gosh, it's been like, what, four weeks since I last updated? I'm sorry! Well, in return for the long wait, I've posted a super long one-shot! Almost 2,000 words. Pretty impressive. ;) I just hope you guys like it!**

**Anyways, it's been brought to my attention (haha that sounded so professional-like) that some people think I've been off topic with my one-shots and that they're not about mythology and that sort of stuff. I'm not mad, in fact, I love hearing your opinions! But let me just say that, well, this is called The LIFE and TIMES of PERCY & ANNABETH. My point of this series was to write about Percy and Annabeth throughout their life together: from dating as teens to moving in together to being camp counselors to (Oh my God!) getting married! After all, once a demigod isn't killed off by some monster or crazy mythology creature, don't they go back to maintaining somewhat of a normal life? **

**So there's my little rant. In other news, did I mention I plan to write 100 one-shots for this series? :)**

**Um, that's all, I guess...Yup, that's it people!**

**Thanks! I love you all and please review! :)**

**By the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**


	25. Because of You

**A/N: A fluffy one-shotset during New Year's eve reminding us all why we love Percy and Annabeth. Enjoy. :)**

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**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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25. Because of You

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At the sound of the doorbell ringing, Percy Jackson got up from the couch and raced to his apartment's door, almost knocking into poor Mrs. Jackson who had been balancing a huge bowl of mashed potatoes in her arms.

"Sorry!" he called out to her, still heading towards the door.

Paul, who had been seated right next to Percy on the couch, chuckled at the sight of Percy running to the door when a few minutes ago his eyes had been glued to the TV screen watching the Colts play against the Jaguars. Sally simply shook her head and placed the bowl of mashed potatoes on the dining table.

Percy ignored them both; he had been waiting for a while now, and the gods knew how patient _he_ was.

He reached the door, unlocked it, and flung it open.

"Oh. Ms. Lawrence. Hi," Percy stated when he saw Paul's sister in the doorway.

Ms. Lawrence, completely oblivious to Percy's obvious disappointment, told him, "Now, Percy, what have I told you before? It's Chelsea – I insist!"

Percy, however, had no time to respond, because his mother had spotted who was at the doorway. "Chelsea! Oh, it's great to see you again! Gosh, where are Percy's manners? Come in, come in!"

As Chelsea came in, one of the many guests the Jacksons' (and Paul) were expecting this evening for their New Year's party, Percy dragged himself back to the couch, sinking into the old pillows that had grown shapeless from the many years it had spent in their apartment. He focused his attention back to the football game, but about ten minutes later, when the door bell rang again, he followed the same ritual: sprinting to the door before anyone else could reach it, flinging it open, only to be disappointed.

And he did this over and over and over again until the more family members and friends and guests came pouring into their small apartment. But time after time, it was still not the person he was waiting for.

And whom was he waiting for? Gee, I don't know. Take a wild guess!

Yup, he was waiting for none another than Annabeth to be standing in front of his door, cheeks red from the cold, bundled up in a winter coat, smiling a smile that seemed to be happy and graceful and intimidating and a little bit arrogant all at once.

She had been in San Francisco visiting her dad for Christmas. But Christmas was over now, and she had called him just last night to announce the news of her arrival back in New York.

Of course, Percy's mother, at hearing this news, insisted that she come to their New Year's party the next day.

So the question remained: where was she?

The doorbell rang over and over and over again until Percy got tired of being interrupted in the middle of the football game he was watching, so he stopped racing to the door each time.

"Sally, great to finally meet you!"

"Laura! Come in!"

"Paul! It's been too long!"

"Sherry! How have you been?"

"Sally! I've heard so much!"

"Oh, the food looks wonderful!"

"Hello! Hello!"

"Oh, dear! I'm glad you could make it tonight! Percy has been waiting all night for you!"

_Wait, what?_ Percy had jumped off the couch and was sprinting to the door. However, he stopped himself and slowed down to a casual walk, which made his impatient heart very angry, but he told it to shut up.

Percy came around the corner and that's when he saw her.

Her golden hair was pulled up in a low ponytail as usual. She wore tattered jeans, gray converse, and a light blue sweatshirt. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing overdressed which Percy was glad about glancing down at his jeans and t-shirt. In fact, nothing about Annabeth seemed different except for the fact that she may have been a bit tanner than she was when she left New York.

Well that, _and_ her smile.

It was bigger, warmer, and happier than Percy could've remembered. And it just made him blush brighter when the thought crossed his mind that maybe, just maybe, he had something to do with it.

"Hey," she said as he reached her and his mother, her smile stretching even wider.

"Um, hi," he somehow managed to say back.

Sally looked from her son to his girlfriend, rolled her eyes, and laughed, "Well, I'll leave you two alone then."

At the moment of which Sally left, Percy used all his courage to step closer to Annabeth and wrap his arms around her in a hug. He was ecstatic to find out that she still fit in his arms comfortably, still smelled like warm cookies, and still caused his heart to pound faster the minute their skins were in contact.

"Missed you," he said in her hair and she smiled into his shoulder.

"Me too," she replied as she pulled away slowly. "Come on, something smells really good." Annabeth intertwined her fingers with his and lead him into the dining table where a huge meal had been laid out courtesy of Mrs. Jackson.

And as they sat at the table surrounded by family members and friends, as they blushed furiously at "when are you going to get married?" jokes directed at them, as they heard the first sounds of fireworks bursting into the air, as they huddled out on the balcony to watch the sparks of color explode overhead, as they even shared the quickest of kisses out there in the freezing cold, Percy knew with all his heart that it didn't matter what this new year brought, it didn't matter what hard times were waiting down the road, it didn't matter what obstacles were yet to be thrown in his path, because this coming new year would be just another year in his life that he would be able to spend with Annabeth.

And that fact alone was what made 2010 already one of the best years of his life.

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**A/N : Hi! Don't say it, don't say it! i know, I know! Where have I been?!?!?**

**My excuse this time? Um, busy with, you know, life. **

**Oh, God, I'm sorry! I promise to try and update earlier from now! I promise, I promise, I promise! Haha, how about that?**

**Okay, now for the thanks. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who keeps reviewing, favoriting and alerting this story! Thank you to those who have been with me from the beginning! I'm doing this all for you...and for my love of fluffy percabeth. :)**

**Happy Holidays and I promise you'll be hearing more of me soon! ;) **

**Love,**

**dancechick307**


	26. A Corner of the Universe

**The Life and Times of Percy & Annabeth**

(one lifetime, one love)

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26. A Corner of the Universe

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Running. Chest heaving up and down. Blinding flashes of green. Then a distant sound of glass shattering. More running. All leading up to a closed door, a dead end.

This is the dream that's been sneaking its way into Annabeth's head for the last two weeks. Every single night.

The dream itself isn't scary or terrifying or anything like that. There are no random faces that pop out, no creepy voices, no bloody monsters. No, the scariest part about the dream is the ending, when Annabeth reaches the dead end. Every single time, she's so close to escaping – from whom or from what is an _entirely_ different matter – and every single time, she's faced with a locked door with absolutely no chance of getting out.

It scares her; it confuses her. Sometimes, she wakes up in the middle of the night feeling beads of sweat form on her forehead. Her stomach has a strange empty sensation and her heart is pounding a thousand miles per minute. It's times like these when she slips from beneath the covers, fishes around her dresser in the darkness for her phone, and after a few clicks, she slips on a pair of shoes and escapes from the safety of Crystal's apartment and onto the streets of Manhattan.

Much to her pleasure, it's never dark out in Manhattan. It never is, regardless of whether it is three o'clock in the morning or eleven o'clock at night. Cars are endlessly honking, people are constantly streaming down the sidewalks, lights are flashing, everything continues to move despite the fact that if you drive a few hours into a suburban town and the whole place would be fast asleep.

She follows down the sidewalk, knowing very well to duck her head as she passes people who have swallowed down dangerous amounts of alcohol and knows to never make eye contact with the man who has a scraggly beard and unclean clothing. She reaches her hand into the pocket of her pajama pants and feels comfort as the harsh edges of her phone dig into her skin. Knowing that police force is only a few dials away, she feels more confident and continues walking along.

In a few minutes, Annabeth has officially crossed over into the Upper East Side of Manhattan where boys in polos and girls in laced stockings are a regular sight. Finding a narrow pathway snaking off the sidewalk, Annabeth follows it into a small gathering of trees too sparse to be called woods, yet to dense to be called a park. The path leads directly through the middle of the trees and with a few looks over her shoulders and listening for the quiet pitter-patter of feet, she ducks into the trees and walks along the path.

The path follows out of the trees and disappears, and Annabeth is now facing a muddy field. Here she slips off her shoes and sprints through the grass, feeling dirt and mud squeeze their way in between her toes. Her heart is racing and her breathing is heavy when she reaches the end of the field that now pours into an elementary school playground.

The playground has a new set of swings, a set of monkey pairs, a tire swing worn from years of kids tugging at it, a slide, and a few other playground things. Mulch pads the ground and a breeze whistles across the night.

The playground isn't gated or anything. The rich and elite of the Upper East Side must think vandalizers would be too scared to ruin their precious prep-school playground. Curfew times are nonexistent in the city that never sleeps, but trespassing laws do exist. Yet Annabeth walks right onto the playground without giving another thought. She heads for the swings.

Her heart skips a beat when she sees someone occupying one of the swings already. He looks up, and her world crumbles. His unmistakable green eyes are shining, and his hair is in its usual bundle of mess.

She slowly approaches the swing to his right and takes a seat, before turning to look at him again. A smile dances at his lips. She silently thanks the gods for the darkness concealing her blushing cheeks.

And then they begin talk of everything. And they talk of nothing. He sometimes holds her. And sometimes he lets her be. They sit on the swings. And they lie in the grass. They whisper words of endearment, and sometimes, they allow the silence to do all the talking.

They both meet up here when their day-to-day lives have become too much, when even their dreams aren't free from heavy thoughts. They come to this spot, to this safe haven, to this corner of the universe they can call their own.

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**A/N: I know its short and not my best, but I'm trying to ease into writing fanfiction again so bear with me please (:**

**I'mmmmmmmm baccccckkkkkkkkkk! :D **

**On a seriously serious note: thank you. Oh my god, thank you. Thank you for the endless reviews, for the favoriting, for the suscribing. You don't know how much it means to me. Lots has happened in the last few months...I've had a lot to handle and at times, I've honestly just wanted to quit writing altogether. But you guys with your annoying comments about updating(: wouldn't let me. And for that, thank you. Thanks for all the support, I love you all so much that's it kind of freaky. I've missed you guys.**

**So, yeah, thanks3**


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